SABOR’s ex-general counsel now CEO
The San Antonio Board of Realtors has appointed its former general counsel as CEO, two weeks after firing the CEO it had hired in June after conducting a national search. The new CEO, Gilbert S. Gonzalez, joined SABOR in 2012 and also served as the organization’s vice president of risk management and supervised its government affairs team, according to a news release. “Gilbert has displayed an unwavering commitment and dedication to SABOR’s staff, mission and vision,” SABOR Chair Lorena Peña said in the release. “Gilbert is a native San Antonian and already has a strong track record with SABOR. His knowledge of the community and his experience with SABOR make him uniquely qualified to lead the organization.” On Sept. 5, SABOR’s board of directors voted to terminate the former CEO, Shane Johnson, who joined the organization in midJune after it hired a recruiter to lead a six-month national search. The board decided he was “just not the right match,” Peña told the Express-News earlier this month, declining to elaborate. Johnson’s abrupt termination came after SABOR voted last year to oust its chairwoman Michele Bunting Ross, accusing her of poor attendance and mistreatment of staff. But Ross and some SABOR members said the charges were trumped up and that she was targeted for trying to make changes that were unpopular with the board. “I am honored to represent the members of SABOR at a local, state and national level,” Gonzalez said in a statement. “The growth of San Antonio and surrounding areas makes this an exciting time to be part of the real estate community.” Before joining SABOR, Gonzalez served as a staff attorney for the Bexar County Courts Administration and worked as an assistant district attorney in the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office, according to the news release.