Joe Hanauer is principal of Combined Investments, LLC and affiliated companies which invest in commercial, office, medical, and residential real estate as well as real estate related businesses.
Mr. Hanauer serves on the boards of directors of Porch, Inc., Rich Uncles, Inc., and is Chairman of the Move, Inc. (formerly NASDQ) Global Advisory Board, operator of Realtor.com, where he served as Chairman of the Board for thirteen years and negotiated the sale of the company to News Corp. Previously, as Chairman of Grubb & Ellis (formerly NYSE), he also became interim CEO to lead the financial restructuring of the company, one of the nation’s largest commercial real estate services and property management companies at the time, shedding all debt and returning the company to profitability.
Prior to forming Combined Investments, Mr. Hanauer was Chairman and CEO of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, having been responsible for developing all of its residential brokerage, franchising and mortgage related businesses internationally. Under his direction revenues grew to nearly $1 billion annually and broker coverage increased from 2,000 people to over 40,000 operating out of 2,000 locations. Coldwell Banker became an acknowledged leader in its field. He joined Coldwell Banker when he and his partners sold their Chicago based real estate firm to the company.
Regarding charitable involvement, he is a life Trustee of Roosevelt University and Chairman of the Board of IHC Global, an organization dedicated to creating sustainable cities globally with safe and inclusive housing. He is a director of Laguna Beach Live!, an organization enabling people to easily access live, quality music; is immediate past Chair of Laguna Playhouse, a leading theatre which will be celebrating its 100th year in 2020 and on the board of Mission Hospital Foundation. He is a Senior Business Fellow at the Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies.
Mr. Hanauer received an undergraduate degree in marketing and business from Roosevelt University and did graduate studies at the University of Chicago.