Fairfax, VA – Ryan McLaughlin, CEO of the Northern Virginia Association of REALTORS® (NVAR) and Derrick Swaak, 2021 NVAR President have been named as two of Virginia Business magazine’s Virginia 500. The “Virginia 500 – 2020 Power List” features a compilation of the state’s most powerful and influential leaders in 20 categories; McLaughlin and Swaak were named for their leadership in Real Estate.

“Ryan has done a phenomenal job of embracing the diversity of Northern Virginia, collaborating throughout the region to build consensus and drive innovation for the benefit of home buyers and sellers. Supported by Derrick’s visionary leadership this year, NVAR has continued to set a high bar for the industry,” said Bob Goldberg, CEO of the National Association of REALTORS®.

In 2015, McLaughlin was named CEO of NVAR, which is one the country’s largest regional REALTOR® associations, supporting the professional needs of more than 13,000 members. Under McLaughlin’s leadership, NVAR worked with state and local governments to ensure that real estate transactions could continue to take place as other parts of the state economy stalled during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Not only did real estate survive during this past year – it thrived,” McLaughlin said. “NVAR members transacted more than $15 billion in volume representing over 22,000 home sales in 2020 and are on track to exceed that volume this year. We know that when real estate thrives, economies flourish. A recent analysis by Virginia REALTORS®, in conjunction with the George Mason University, reports that during the pandemic the total economic impact of Virginia’s housing sector was $51.77 billion.”

Prior to joining NVAR, McLaughlin was CEO of the Greater Lehigh Valley REALTORS® in Bethlehem, Pa., where he was named one of the “40 Under 40” regional business leaders by Lehigh Valley Business. He was a member of the Lower Macungie Township Board of Commissioners from 2009 to 2015, serving as its president in 2015. In 2015, he received the NAR “Association Executive (AE) Leaders of Tomorrow” Young Professionals Award. That year he was also inducted into NAR’s Dr. Almon R. (Bud) Smith AE Leadership Society. McLaughlin is the 2022 Chair of the NAR AE Committee. He is a graduate of the Leadership Fairfax class of 2017 and was named to the inaugural Virginia 500 – 2020 Power List.

“I am honored to once again be named among this list of influential leaders,” McLaughlin said. “And I’m also very proud of our President Derrick Swaak, whose strength of purpose and steady leadership helped to guide our association during such an extraordinary year.”

Swaak is a partner and managing broker with TTR Sotheby’s International Realty in McLean, Va., having joined the firm in 2007. A Cornell alumnus with degrees in hotel management and business, Swaak began his career in hotel development, acquisitions and franchise sales before joining Realogy Corp. as vice president of national sales. In 2018, he was appointed to a task force to create a long-term redevelopment plan for downtown McLean.

“It’s an incredible privilege to be included among this group of esteemed business leaders,” Swaak said.  “It has been rewarding to serve this past year as president of NVAR during a time of both unprecedented challenge and unparalleled success for the real estate industry.”

The 2020 Power List is Virginia Business magazine’s inaugural edition of the Virginia 500. According to the Virginia Business website, considerations for the recognition included, but were not limited to, “annual revenue, newsworthiness, community involvement, diversity, number of employees (in Virginia and worldwide) and how large a presence the organization has in the commonwealth.”