Gail Liniger

Co-Founder, Vice Chair Emerita & Director Emerita, Mativ Holdings

Search every verified Gail Liniger interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Gail Liniger, co-founder of RE/MAX, has spoken about the early challenges of building the real estate company. She stated that the company's model was based on paying top producers better, which she said put the company on the "hate list" of other real estate firms. Liniger noted that the company attracted experienced agents by offering higher commission splits, as the founders believed agents were doing most of the work and taking most of the risk while receiving only half the compensation. She recalled that in the early days, the company had to sell a franchise to make payroll and another to pay rent. Liniger has also discussed her recovery from a 1983 airplane crash that left her with a severe head injury. She credited Craig Hospital in Denver with her rehabilitation, stating that the doctors, nurses, and therapists there showed "incredible compassion, love, and caring." She described the hospital's "bridge to independence" being named the Liniger Bridge to Independence, calling it an honor because independence represents freedom and a chance to regain part of one's former self. In a 2011 speech at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, where she was inducted into the Alumni Hall of Fame, Liniger thanked the university for her education and acknowledged Dave Liniger for hiring her as his first employee.