Real estate giant, Keller Williams Realty Inc. made its move into Quebec in 2013 and opened a franchise in downtown Montreal under the name of KW Urbain, a name chosen so as to be respectful of Quebec culture and reflecting its downtown location, in the heart of Montreal, at 1100 Blvd Robert-Bourassa. KW Urbain opened in August 2013 under the leadership of co-founders Anne St Dennis and Michel Beauséjour, both ex CEOs of real estate associations in Canada. Both were drawn to Keller Williams Realty due to its innovative business model which treats real estate brokers as partners through the Leadership Council, Open Books, Profit-Sharing and World Class Technology and training. St Dennis and Beauséjour sought other like-minded pioneers to help launch KW Urbain bringing eight other partners to the table, who, as well-known and highly respected brokers were able to bring the real estate practitioner's side to KW Urbain. Getting KW Urbain up and running was an aggressive move for North America's largest real estate franchise, a calculated move that took roughly three years as the Austin-based corporate head office of Keller Williams Realty familiarized itself with the language laws and Québec brokerage act. The result is KW Urbain, Quebec's flagship, built upon a successful foundation set by Keller Williams Realty.