Berry Everitt was recently named by Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® as the winner of its prestigious Global Leadership Award for 2022, in recognition of his dedication to supporting the growth of LeadingRE around the world and building strong connections between the members.He is the CEO of Chas Everitt International, the property group that is named after his father, Charles Everitt, who started a small family real estate company with Berry’s mother, Tilla, more than 40 years ago. Berry took over the Johannesburg company in 1998 when his parents retired, and has since built it up into one of the top four real estate brands in South Africa, with offices in every major city and town and around 1000 sales agents.This has been an amazing journey, he says, of growth, differentiation and the discovery of new market spaces, “but what is most important to me and the management team is that the family values of honesty, integrity, responsibility and caring that were the cornerstones of my parent’s business are deeply embedded in our DNA as an organisation, and embraced by everyone who works under the Chas Everitt banner.“Yes, we are known for our leadership in South Africa in the application of real estate technologies and lately, for the development of our own, groundbreaking technology solutions for both agents and clients. In fact, out of more than 500 brokerages in the LeadingRE, Chas Everitt International won the award for the most innovative brokerage in the world after our very first year as a member.“And yes, we are also known for our ability to quickly adapt to major changes in our business environment and to find new solutions for our agents. For example, we were ready and able to convert immediately to remote working when Covid-19 hit South Africa and we went into a hard lockdown. This enabled us to stay in touch with all our sellers and buyers and to keep our transactions alive while other real estate companies were still figuring out how to set up online working and communications systems. “However, I remind people every day that you don’t have to throw everything from the past away in order to build a better company and get ahead of the competition. In fact there are certain things that you absolutely must retain in order to be really successful, as a person or as a business. Being true to ourselves and the values we hold dear is the only proper foundation for growth and innovation.”In keeping with this, Berry`s focus is to enable and empower Chas Everitt agents and support staff by every means available to provide personalised service and solutions to clients, turn their real estate transactions into experiences that are memorable for all the right reasons, and become the trusted - and recommended - real estate confidants and advisors, for life.Beyond this role, he is also well known for his “realistic but always optimistic” analyses of economic and property market trends and how these are likely to affect consumers and household budgets. He is also often consulted on his comprehensive knowledge of consumer and property investment issues, and is a firm believer in the value of real estate as a medium to long-term investment, for local as well as foreign buyers.