After 47 Years Improving Real Estate, Bill Madder Returns to Golf

Saskatchewan Realtors Association CEO Chris Guérette with Bill Madder at his retirement party earlier this month (photo: LSTAR).

Bill Madder has devoted nearly five decades to supporting real estate professionals, strengthening associations and shaping the industry’s future.

This month, Madder retired as CEO of the London & St. Thomas Association of Realtors (LSTAR) after a career that included leadership roles across three provinces. Over the years he became a trusted voice in organized real estate and a generous mentor to many.

“There are so many opportunities to help in a positive way,” Madder said in an interview with Real Estate Magazine. “If we all thought about helping each other, our industry would be better.”

A career that started with a newspaper ad

Madder earned his real estate licence in Manitoba in 1979 at age 22 after responding to a classified ad. “I had a couple of other jobs, but I was not real happy with what I was doing, and I thought real estate looked like a pretty interesting opportunity,” he recalled. “So I replied to the ad, they hired me, and I guess it went from there.”

He started selling in Brandon, the nearest city to where he grew up in rural Manitoba, and quickly became active in the organized side of the business. He served as a director with the Brandon Real Estate Board and later as board president in 1989–90. By 1993 he moved into association management full time as executive officer, a role he held until 2000.

Building organized real estate across the Prairies

In 2001 Madder became CEO of the Saskatchewan provincial association, based in Saskatoon, a position he held for 19 years. Chris Guérette, now CEO of the Saskatchewan Realtors Association, remembers Madder’s readiness to test new ideas in the province.

“I often heard Bill say that Saskatchewan was the perfect place to try new ideas — large enough to make an impact, but nimble enough to move quickly,” Guérette said. “He was always the first to embrace emerging technology and explore how it could transform the real estate industry.”

One of Madder’s major accomplishments was overseeing amalgamation: consolidating 14 boards into three and ultimately merging those into today’s Saskatchewan Realtors Association. That process included setbacks and at least one failed vote, but Madder’s resilience and focus kept the effort moving forward.

“That amalgamation was finalized at the end of 2019, which was a great deal,” Madder noted. “Which also meant that I had worked myself out of a job.” After a brief flirtation with retirement in early 2020, he accepted the CEO role at LSTAR in April 2020 and began working remotely from his Saskatoon basement during the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic. He had planned to serve five years and ultimately stayed six.

Lifting others as he climbed

Perhaps the most enduring feature of Madder’s career is his commitment to developing people. Colleagues across provinces describe him as a leader who opened opportunities and mentored future leaders.

Nicole Christy, CEO of the Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB), says Madder helped launch parts of her career. “From my earliest days, Bill championed me — opening doors, offering guidance, and creating opportunities I wouldn’t have found on my own,” she said. “He brought me to LSTAR in southwestern Ontario and later put my name forward for OREB. Bill leads by lifting others — always reaching back to help people move forward.”

Guérette echoed that sentiment, emphasizing that beyond policy wins or organizational milestones, Madder’s greatest legacy is the people and teams he helped develop. “He had a unique ability to push others to grow a little faster and dream a little bigger than they believed they could themselves,” Guérette said. “He invested in emerging leaders, stayed connected with younger voices across industries, and was always eager to learn from others.”

Christy added that Madder’s leadership combined deep industry experience with a talent for bringing people together. “He carried that brand of leadership from Manitoba to Saskatchewan and ultimately to Ontario,” she said. “He worked across all three levels of organized real estate, guiding through periods of significant change — legislative, technological and otherwise. He leaves every association — and its members — stronger than he found them.”

An advocate for industry input

During his time in Ontario, Madder followed developments at the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO), particularly after the iPro Realty Ltd. situation that raised public trust concerns. While he supports effective oversight, he also wants the industry to have a stronger voice in regulatory conversations.

“I don’t like the idea of government control, but oversight is very important, and it proved itself in that situation,” he said, noting that LSTAR met with RECO’s administrator, Jean Lépine. He welcomed RECO’s commitment to consult an industry advisory group as it shapes a new board, and expressed hope that industry representation on the board will grow over time.

Looking ahead: optimistic about the industry, focused on the grandkids

Madder is optimistic about the future of real estate. He views technology and artificial intelligence as tools that free agents from administrative tasks so they can focus on relationships and client service.

“The service our members provide is something I don’t believe can be digitized,” he said. “The time I often spent doing administrative things, like picking up keys, phoning for appointments, is now handled by technology, so members can spend more time creating relationships with their clients.”

For his next chapter, Madder plans a quieter life. He and his wife will move back to Manitoba to be near their daughter and her young family. His priorities for now are simple: the two G’s — grandkids and golf.

“This industry tends to hold on to us,” he admitted, “so there might be something out there. But honestly, I have nothing in the works. I’m just going to relax for a bit.”