Ron Peltier
Title: CEO of HomeServices of America
Why selected: With plenty of cash from its parent company, Berkshire Hathaway, the Minneapolis-based company was poised to acquire a record number of brokerages in 2013.
What happened: HomeServices, the parent of Edina Realty, acquired more than a half-dozen brokerage companies. One of its most notable deals was with Prudential Rubloff Properties, a $2.2 billion company whose acquisition turned HomeServices into one of the two leading brokerages in the Chicago area.
Jim Buchta