Chris Trapani is the CEO and owner of Sereno Group. He co-founded Sereno Group with his father, Marko Trapani, Sr. and his lifetime best friend, Ryan Iwanaga. Chris and Ryan had the vision for Sereno Group and were financially backed by Marko who wholeheartedly believed in them.
Sereno Group has grown to four offices and 130 experienced Realtors in less than four years. The company has established itself as a proven market leader and consistent community supporter. The formula for success has been to attract and hire only seasoned professionals who share a common thread of professionalism, care and creativity and to maintain an incredibly supportive staff and infrastructure.
The Sereno Group brand is already in a class by itself. It has come to be signified with quality and accountability in the world of Residential Real Estate. Chris and Ryan’s plan was to move away from the impersonal mega-firms and corporate brands into an environment that is rich in spirit and support of its people and keeping their best interests at the forefront of the priority system.
Sereno Group eclipsed the $500 million annual sales mark in their first full year in business. In 2009, Sereno Group was ranked the #4th most productive residential real estate company with in excess of $600 million in sales and is projected to close nearly $800 million in 2010. Chris’ goal is to reach $1 billion in annual sales by 2011. Sereno Group was also named by Bay Area News Group as the Best Place to Work in the entire bay area for 2010. The company was recognized as a top producing company nationally by RIS Media and was also featured in California Real Estate and the National Association of Realtors Magazines in 2010.
Prior to launching Sereno Group, Chris was the President & COO of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Silicon Valley overseeing 17 offices and more than 1400 Realtors. His metro was responsible for $8 billion in annual sales and in excess of $250 million in annual gross revenues. In addition to overseeing the day to day brokerage operation, Chris was responsible for growth in the area including recruiting and acquisitions where he successfully led the purchase of a notable real estate company in Santa Cruz County in 2004 integrating 100+ additional agents and $511 million in additional sales volume into his region.
Chris grew up in Saratoga, graduating from Saratoga High School in 1985 and Cal Poly SLO in 1990. He also attended the Wharton School of Business’ CEO Leadership course in 2004. He began his real estate sales career in 1990 at the age of 24 and became an office manager leading one of the top ranked real estate offices in the country at the age of 33. At 35 he became Executive Vice President of Coldwell Banker and in 2004 at the age of 37 became Coldwell Banker/NRT’s youngest President in the nation. He resigned from his position at Coldwell Banker in 2006 to fulfill his dream and vision to create Sereno Group. Chris’s family has a long history in Silicon Valley. His Grandfather was a real estate broker in the Willow Glen area of San Jose from the late 1940’s until his passing in the early 1980’s. His father, Marko, was a worldwide leader in insurance sales and was a pioneer in the card room industry owning several card rooms beginning in the early 1970’s in Palo Alto, Santa Clara, San Jose and eventually creating, developing and co-owning the successful Bay 101 card room in San Jose.
Chris resides in Monte Sereno with his wife Kirsten and their three children. He is a member of Los Gatos Rotary and is on the Board of the San Jose Children’s Musical Theatre.
