Kevin Hawkins (kevin at wavgroup dot com) is President of WAV Group Communications, the Public Relations and Communication division of real estate’s leading consulting firm, WAV Group. The division’s goal is to expand and deepen the communications services provided to leading real estate technology firms, top real estate brokerages, the most innovative Multiple Listing Services and largest REALTOR® Associations.
Well known nationally among real estate journalists and communications professionals, Kevin has expertise in both consumer and industry outreach. He has successfully launched and promoted hundreds of new business and consumer products and services in residential real estate, mortgage finance and technology sectors. His creative and high-effective ROI grassroot campaigns have helped firms increase both product adoption and profitability.
Kevin has more than 35 years of experience leading and transforming communications programs for small and medium sized businesses, as well as Fortune 500 companies. He has held marketing, communications and leadership positions at Fannie Mae, CHASE (then Great Western Bank), HomeGain, Inman News and its initial Real Estate Connect conferences, and heading up Marketing and PR at Imprev, now part of MoxiWorks.
Kevin also was an Account Supervisor at a Los Angeles-based PR agency, and was a top producing mortgage loan officer on Bainbridge Island, WA for eight years. As an award-winning freelance writer, Kevin authored more than 50 magazine feature stories on the leaders of the real estate industry and emerging tech.
He is a long-time member of the National Association of Real Estate Editors (NAREE), and held positions as Second Vice President and Board member. He won the only two writing awards NAREE offered to non-journalists: Best Overall Media Campaign and Best News Release. Two NAREE Presidents honored his volunteer work with a “President’s Award.”
Today he writes “Real AI,” a weekly blog post and newsletter showcasing the Artificial Intelligence movement in real estate.
Many of his current clients are category leaders, including Ben Caballero (No. 1 ranked agent in the US since 2013), CoreLogic (No. 1 MLS platform provider with Matrix), Restb.ai (leader in AI and Computer Vision) and Florida Realtors (No. 1 tech support service with Tech Helpline).
Kevin is a graduate of the University of Miami, Florida, completed his graduate studies at the University of Southern California, towards a Master of Public Relations degree, and has an Executive Leadership Certificate from the University of Maryland. He has been named a RISMedia Newsmaker and to Inman’s Influencer List.