$3.5B real estate brokerage, in a digital world, keeps opening offices

Naples-based John R. Wood Properties shows no signs of slowing down as it surpasses 65 years in business. Neither does its president and CEO.

By Beth Luberecki
| 5:00 a.m. December 29, 2023
| 0 Free Articles Remaining!

John R. Wood Properties President and CEO Phil Wood says "my dad was a big jokester, and I kind of try to do the same thing in the office. I walk around trying to get people to laugh."

Charlotte–Lee–Collier

Naples was just a fishing village when John R. Wood Properties was founded in 1958, a far cry from the high-end retiree and vacation haven it is today. In those 65 years, both the real estate brokerage and the area it serves have grown tremendously, and the firm’s almost $3.5 billion in sales volume as of the end of November 2023 puts it about $1 billion ahead of its closest area competitor.

Phil Wood, current president and CEO of John R. Wood Properties, joined the family firm, founded by his father, John R. Wood, in 1976. Back then he was just the ninth agent at the company. (He became president of the company in 1986 and CEO in 2010.) Today some 850 John R. Wood agents and about 90 other staff members work with buyers and sellers all over Southwest Florida.