There are very few among us whose career predates the electronic Multiple Listing Service. Canadian born John Mosey is among them. He was there when listings were dropped off at the Association of REALTORS office. He was there when data was transmitted at 300 bits-per-second. He was there when the first regional MLS was formed. He has contributed opinions on nearly every word contained in the NAR MLS Policy manual. Mosey’s career is constituted by being a true pioneer in all things, a mitigated risk taker, and a rock solid executive who operates on the values of fairness and trust. He has mentored me and just about everyone he has ever met.

Somewhere along the way, I learned that leaders tend to fall into categories. Some are significance driven, others are variety driven. John Mosey is contribution driven. He has bestowed an endowment of excellence on our industry that will forever be his legacy.

My only hope is that his retirement from his day job does not represent a complete exit from real estate. Stick around John. Besides, Honor does not want you under foot too much. Enjoy your grandchildren but please, keep jumping on our Zoom calls. There is great demand for advisors like you.

Please see below for the original press release.

 

 

NorthstarMLS CEO John Mosey to retire after 40 years in real estate industry

National search for successor in the works

Twin Cities, Minnesota, April 29, 2022 – Gregarious. Engaging. Curious. Visionary. Innovative. Ethical. Knowledgeable. Storyteller. These are just a few of the attributes describing NorthstarMLS CEO John Mosey who is set to retire later in 2022 after 20 years at the helm of the Regional Multiple Listing Service of Minnesota, Inc, (dba NorthstarMLS), and more than 40 years collectively working in the real estate industry.

Considered a visionary by his peers and real estate professionals, John’s career as both a technology vendor and an MLS executive took him from Toronto and Vancouver in Canada to California and Minnesota in the United States. Within Moore Data, he ran multiple business units, led Canadian operations, and became VP of Sales for North America.

In addition to growing sales and building a profitable online services business with Moore Data, he held profit and loss responsibility for the MLS Book, Tax and Homes Magazine units within the company. In 1998, John assumed leadership and direction of Cyberhomes, Moore’s flagship real estate website and within a few years left to lead a start-up in the early days of Showings technologies.

“John encourages other MLS’s to control their destiny when it comes to their data. He helped show the way that if you could develop that piece on your own, it put you into a much stronger position to do some of the things you need for your brokerage community,” said Art Carter, CEO of the California Regional MLS. “One of the things I admire about John is that if he agrees with you, he’ll tell you; and if he disagrees with you, you’ll hear that, too. He is always the consummate professional. If there was a Mount Rushmore of MLS execs, John’s head would be among them.”

Initially recruited for the job, John has led NorthstarMLS since 2002. He served as a multi-year Board member of the Council of Multiple Listing Services. He currently serves on the boards of The MLS Grid, the Broker Public Portal (BPP) and was on the industry-controlled Board of Directors of the joint venture that oversees Homesnap’s delivery of the BPP’s value proposition.

“John has had a vision of creating an MLS eco-system where information sharing and economies of scale can transcend geography and political structures,” said John Fridlington, CEO of the Saint Paul Area Association of REALTORS®, one of three NorthstarMLS shareholder Associations. “He has taken NorthstarMLS from its infancy and through adolescence and into an ever-more successful and future-focused period.”

Carrie Chang, CEO of Minneapolis Area REALTORS®, another of the major NorthstarMLS shareholders, added “John Mosey will leave a legacy of a vital, shared resource that has been a model for the rest of the country.”

In 2015, in addition to his duties as Northstar’s CEO, John developed the concept of the Common Data Platform (CDP). CDP is a shared database and listing input system that any of the major front end MLS technology vendors can plug into. This allows other Associations in the region to contribute their data as a full NorthstarMLS client or shared CDP data partner only. Local control and front-end of-choice MLS system are maintained, and brokers reduce their cost of business by having all the data in their market available through a single Association membership.
“John understands people from the newest agent to the largest broker. An innovator and leader, John has expanded the MLS to nearly all of Minnesota and makes sure the MLS serves all needs,” said John Smaby, a second-generation Realtor® from Edina, Minnesota, who served as the 2019 President of the National Association of REALTORS®. “Through John’s friendships in the MLS community, he’s brought the best of the best to the Twin Cities and the region. He’s leaving the MLS better than when he started, and he will be missed!”

A selection committee is conducting a national search for John Mosey’s successor.

About NorthstarMLS
NorthstarMLS provides participating real estate brokers and agents with fast and reliable access to the information and resources that make the real estate market function efficiently and effectively for both buyers and sellers. Learn more at https://www.northstarmls.com.

The Regional MLS of Minnesota, Inc. is owned by the Realtor® shareholder associations of Minneapolis, Saint Paul and Southeast Minnesota, and provides MLS services to the Western Wisconsin REALTORS® Association, St. Cloud Area Association of REALTORS®, Greater Lakes Association of REALTORS®, West Central REALTORS® Association, Itasca County Board of REALTORS® and Greater Alexandria Area Association of REALTORS®. The Lakes Region and Lake Country Associations of REALTORS® will be supported by NorthstarMLS beginning in June of this year making shared listing data available to more than 96% of MN REALTORS members.

NorthstarMLS also provides the Common Data Platform solution for Northwest Minnesota Association of REALTORS® headquartered in Bemidji, and in Iowa for Heart of Iowa, Mid-Iowa, North Central Iowa, Southeast Iowa and West Central Iowa Associations of REALTORS® along with the Iowa Chapter of the REALTOR® Land Institute. MARIS, the Regional MLS serving Missouri and Southern Illinois will go live as a CDP partner later this year. The Fargo-Moorhead Association in North Dakota will become a CDP partner in early 2023.

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CONTACT
NorthstarMLS Board of Directors
Brian Rossow, President
507-282-1700
brian@pbofmn.com

NorthstarMLS
Tom Flaherty, Director Marketing & Communications
651-251-3206
tflaherty@northstarmls.com