Zoopla has announced four new senior staff, saying the arrivals signal further long-term investment in product innovation.
Holly Westall becomes head of product. She was formerly with Scout24, the German online listings company, where she held a similar position. She brings global expertise to Zoopla, having worked at a variety of property portals spanning across Europe to Australia.
Her focus will be on ensuring value to partners, particularly with regards to listing marketing, property valuations and inventory acquisition tools and services.
Paul Hammond, Zoopla’s new head of engineering, has previously held software leadership roles at eBay and Microsoft (including MSN and Skype). His focus will be on the consumer, specifically developing and improving Zoopla’s web and mobile user experiences.
Carl Olivier joins from Skype as head of product for software and productivity. He will oversee the tools Zoopla creates for agents to help them operate as efficiently as possible, delivering maximum value for money.
Peter Sellwood, new head of engineering at Zoopla’s software division, joins from American Express.
His brief at Zoopla is to develop Zoopla’s estate agent customer management products which enhance the ability of agents to manage their property portfolios and clients.
Charlie Bryant, managing director of Zoopla, said: “We are excited to welcome Carl, Holly, Peter and Paul to Zoopla’s product team.
“This investment in talent feeds into our long-term strategy to deliver a better quality experience for users on our portal which will drive better quality leads to agents.
“Ensuring Zoopla is at the forefront of market leading products and data is a huge priority for us, and investment in our people is the first step to making this happen.”
Comments (3)
I make this observation…
Our Industry does not need multiple Portals.
If we continue to get sucked into each & every portal then we will all be paying tens of thousands of ££££££££’s for what is, by & large, Online Advertising.
Yes, I understand the leads generated etc however there is a finite number of actual buyers out there.
If we support the No 1, No 2, No 3 Portals we are simply making a rod for our own financial backs.
At what point do Estate Agents wake up and realise that they are not working to serve the Portals, yet whether by choice, strategy or fear, we are potentially suckered into the belief that the more portals we are on, the more we benefit/or can top our competitors!
Apply that theory to Sellers and we go back to multiple Agents marketing the same property because the seller thinks being for sale with 5 agents simultaneously is better than a sole agent ……only true in my view when you are looking at properties which will genuinely attract International interest at high values …..otherwise Sole Agency works extremely well for Sellers .
Anyway, Our Industry remains a juicy morsel for Portals to feed off …..at what point do we wake up? ……or do we opt that it is merely survival of those with the deepest pockets that keep paying ever increasing Portal Advertising Costs.
Last time I looked, I worked for my Sellers ……not the Portals. Every Agent out there is in “Sales” …..at what point do you realise that the Portals are simply eating you financially.
As Our Industry fed Rightmove it is now feeding the Portal Industry, we are serving up Our Industry on a plate ……it would be laughable ……if it was a dream, however it’s not a dream….
We are financing our own funeral and we are paying the Portal Undertakers to do
I don’t take my car to 3 garages to get it serviced, I don’t go to 3 dentists, I don’t stay in 3 hotels on my holidays….
We are financing our own funeral and we are paying 3 or more Portal Undertakers to do it!
zoopla should buy out onTheMarket and carry on as before.
Well, they had to replace all the talent that’s walked out the door since the takeover.