DUNNMILLER TEAM - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder
- Co - Founder and Co - CEO
Mike Golden is co-founder and co-CEO of @properties, the nation's 8th largest brokerage firm by sales volume (REALTrends 500). @properties and its affiliated companies have over 3,500 agents in 13 states, as well as annual closed sales volume of over $16 billion.
Golden and @properties' co-founder, Thad Wong, met in the mid-1990s at a small brokerage firm in downtown Chicago. They teamed up to sell new-construction and condominium-conversion developments, and quickly became two of the city's top producing agents.
In 2000, recognizing a need among fellow agents for more services and support, they established @properties. From the beginning, Golden and Wong placed a heavy emphasis on culture, marketing and innovation, and in less than 10 years, @properties grew into the #1 residential brokerage firm in Chicago by sales volume. Over the past decade, the firm has expanded throughout the metro area and into Northwest Indiana, Southwest Michigan and Wisconsin. Today, @properties is the largest residential brokerage firm in Illinois.
Golden largely focuses on business operations, finance, and sales. Recently, he led @properties' acquisition of two independent brokerage firms, Ansley Real Estate and Nest Realty; the establishment of Proper Rate, an independent mortgage lender, in a joint venture with Guaranteed Rate; and the formation of Proper Title, which has become Illinois' second largest independent title agency. In September 2020, Golden and Wong announced the launch of @properties' national franchise brand.
He has also overseen the establishment and growth of @properties' in-house Programming team, which is responsible for the development of pl@tform™, the firm's proprietary, end-to-end suite of real estate technology applications. Additionally, Golden has provided venture funding for a number of real estate technology startups, including Konverse, First.io, and m@ilcontrol.
Golden also heads up @properties Developer Services, a national firm that provides sales and marketing services to developers of new-construction and condo-conversion communities.
Golden is a past president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS® (CAR) and was honored as the 2011 CAR REALTOR® of the Year. He and Wong have received numerous honors including: the 2013 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award - Midwest; recognition on the "Inc. 500/5000" list of the fastest growing companies in America; Crain's Chicago Business "Fast Fifty" list of the fastest growing companies in Chicago; induction into the Chicago Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame; the Merrick Momentum Award from the Chicago Entrepreneurial Center at tech incubator 1871; and the Impact Award from the Lincoln Park Builders Club.
In 2009, Golden and Wong established @properties' nonprofit foundation, @gives back. Past and present beneficiaries include Habitat for Humanity, Chance The Rapper's SocialWorks, The Lynn Sage Cancer Research Foundation, The Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation, Imerman Angels, Keith Relief, and Noah's Arc Foundation, among others. Golden is also on the board of directors of Maryville Academy, a childcare organization for families and children in need.
Golden grew up in the Boston area and graduated from Bates College with a bachelor's degree in philosophy and economics. He lives in Winnetka, Ill., with his wife Kelly, also a successful entrepreneur, and their three children.