Alex Machikas - Broker in Charge / Lead Agent
Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Alexander played both hockey and football before deciding to go to prep school in Boston to pursue his academic and athletic careers. After spending six years in New England, Alexander traveled down south to attend Furman University. As a graduate, Alexander began working in the sports industry for a minor league hockey team in South Carolina whilst also working as an analyst for Pro Football Focus. Alex has transitioned into the real estate industry for the past 8 years working as an Agent and now as the practicing Broker in Charge. Alex loves helping people and looks forward to working with you in the future.
Karen Machikas - Founder / Agent
Karen moved to the Research Triangle area in 2006 when she joined the real estate industry, which had been a passion of hers for many years. Karen has served for four consecutive years on the Associate Leadership Council in the Keller Williams Raleigh office. She currently serves on the Women's Council of Realtors and the Triangle Leadership Academy. In 2015, 2016, and 2017, Karen was nominated for Cultural Icon in the North and South Carolina region.
Karen grew up in Montgomery County Maryland, just outside of Washington DC and studied dance in college. She has been married to her husband, Michael for 32 years and is the mother of two sons and a daughter. She recently welcomed her first grandchild in October 2018. When she’s not busy selling homes, Karen has a passion for any furry creature, especially Pugs and Bengal Cats.
Michael Machikas - Agent
Michael is Karen’s husband and has recently joined the firm after working with a publicly traded REIT as a Senior Executive. His earlier experiences included working with the nation’s largest private telecommunication provider as the Senior VP of Marketing & Sales, as well as founding and managing multiple constructions & material supply companies for 20+ years. He currently holds a North Carolina Real Estate Brokers License, North Carolina General Contractors’ Unlimited License and North Carolina Health & Life Insurance License.
Michael helps assist clients in their buying and selling of homes. He also manages the growth of the business and the start of the Moving Experience Home Building Company.
Michael attended Cornell University where he was a 4-year letterman and captain of their football team, member of their lacrosse team and a member of Psi Upsilon Fraternity. His passions include sports and spending time with his family at the beach in Bald Head Island.
Jon Willard - Agent
Jon is a real estate agent as well as our Director of Marketing Operations. Jon is from North Carolina, born in Greensboro, and was fortunate enough to have attended Appalachian State University. His career experience has been a bit different from most - Jon has gone from farming to HondaJet to most recently clinical trial pharmaceuticals & project management and now into real estate. Jon is passionate about his family and stretching himself in order to constantly grow. Jon and his wife have two dogs, one who lives with him (a pug-poodle mix) and another who lives in Greensboro with his grandmother (a golden retriever). Jon loves to golf (when he has the time), fish (fly, salt, fresh), and to be outdoors with family and friends. Jon is a huge college football fan (GO MOUNTAINEERS!) and greatly enjoys meeting new people.