Velocitydrift

The former CEO quietly left the company as of the close of its merger with Compass, a rep confirmed to Inman. Former Anywhere CTO Rudy Wolfs also left in the wake of the transaction.

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Ryan Schneider, now-former CEO, president and board member of Anywhere Real Estate Inc., has left the company as of the close of its multi-billion dollar acquisition by Compass, Inman has learned.

Schneider’s departure was not announced publicly by Compass International Holdings (which absorbed Anywhere with the transaction), but his LinkedIn profile was recently updated to say that his tenure at the company came to a close in January 2026. Compass International Holdings confirmed to Inman that Schneider left “in accordance with the terms of the merger agreement” when the deal closed.

Similarly, Rudy Wolfs, Anywhere’s chief technology officer, left the company following the deal’s close, the company confirmed.

Compass International Holdings declined to comment further on the departures, but a rep noted that C-suite updates would be announced at an unspecified future date.

A spokesperson for the company added, “We appreciate the work they did and wish them well going forward.”

The company did not say anything about what kind of departure package Schneider might receive, however, an SEC filing dated Nov. 14, 2025, stipulates that if Schneider or any other executive officer at Anywhere (with the exception of Tim Gustavson, Anywhere’s senior vice president, chief accounting officer and controller) were terminated by the company “without cause” or “for good reason” within two years of the transaction with Compass, they would be entitled to a severance package that includes the following payments and benefits:

a payment equal to two times the sum of the executive’s annual base salary and annual incentive award to be paid in the first regular payroll following the 60th day after the executive’s termination
for Schneider, a prorated annual incentive award, based on performance, payable at the same time Anywhere pays its annual incentive awards, and for other executives, a prorated annual incentive award based on that exec’s “target opportunity,” also payable in a lump sum in the first regular payroll following the 60th day after their termination
continuation of medical and dental benefits for up to 18 months
outplacement services for up to 12 months, not to exceed more than $50,000 in value

The SEC filing also stipulated a separate “change in control severance plan” for select senior employees at the company, which includes Tim Gustavson. Those severance packages include similar benefits that are less generous in their duration and monetary value.

The filing also featured a table of potential payments to specific executive officers at Anywhere, in the event of a qualifying termination. At that time, Schneider was estimated to receive a cash severance payment of about $17.74 million, an equity award of about $49.09 million and medical and dental benefits valuing around $87,955.

Given that Compass International Holdings declined to comment further on Schneider’s departure, it is unclear whether terms were met for him to receive all such estimated payments or whether the amounts varied from those stipulated in the SEC filing.

Schneider joined Anywhere, which at the time was known as Realogy, at the tail-end of 2017 after working in executive-level roles at Capital One for about 14 years.

As CEO of Anywhere, Schneider emphasized agent support while also working to make the holding company a leaner operation through selling off non-core businesses, reorganizing select operations and leaning into technology.

Schneider also gained recognition for leading Anywhere to become one of the first major real estate companies to settle the industry’s Sitzer and Moehrl commission lawsuits, agreeing to resolve claims against the company in the fall of 2023 before they made it to trial, for $83.5 million. During an appearance at Inman Connect New York in January 2024, Schneider said the settlement decision was made to protect the company’s agents and brokers, a move he saw as a value proposition over other real estate firms.

“Once you have a clear vision about what’s the right thing, then you have to get there,” Schneider said in 2024. “Do I want to spend my time and money on litigation, or do I want to spend it on agents and franchisees?”

Anywhere was the parent company of Coldwell Banker, Century 21, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, Sotheby’s International Realty, ERA and Corcoran. Compass has said those brands will continue to preserve their unique identities in the wake of the merger.

In its $1.6 billion deal with Compass, which closed in January, the holding company brought its roughly $2.6 billion in debt to Compass, net of cash. Compass previously acquired @properties Christie’s International Real Estate in January 2025.

Some industry leaders have criticized the Compass-Anywhere deal because of the significant market share Compass-affiliated companies will now hold in the U.S. Compass is the largest residential real estate brokerage in the country by sales volume, with over $231 billion in sales volume as of 2024, according to RealTrends.

Meanwhile, Anywhere is in second place with $183.81 billion in sales volume in 2024. The combined companies’ agent count is also substantial — Compass has about 40,000 agents, and Anywhere has 51,000 at owned brokerages, plus 250,000 at franchises.

However, other real estate executives, including SERHANT. CEO Ryan Serhant, have argued that the move is beneficial to the real estate community, since it creates “a major player in the space that is pro-agents that can lobby with some real weight.”

Update: This story was updated to clarify that confirmation of Schneider’s departure was provided by Compass International Holdings, which absorbed Anywhere Real Estate, Inc. through their merger deal in January. It was also updated with a statement from the company.

Email Lillian Dickerson

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