People Roundup: Hemnet, Realtor.com

This week's roundup starts with Sweden's powerhouse portal Hemnet...

Europe: Hemnet appoints new Chief Sales Officer

Hemnet's CEO Jonas Gustafsson has taken to LinkedIn to reveal the promotion of Marcus Westerlund as the company's new Chief Sales Officer, officially taking the role on 1 September.

Gustafsson said:

"During his first year at Hemnet, Marcus has taken great strides in strengthening our sales organization and building stronger partnerships with our advertising customers and Sweden’s real estate agents."

"Over the past year, Marcus and his team have made significant progress in elevating the role of Hemnet’s Sales department. Supporting our advertising customers with the right marketing solutions is vital, but just as important is building stronger customer relationships and developing strategic partnerships across all our key customer groups, in particular real estate agents. This promotion highlights the central role our sales and customer service teams play in Hemnet's direction and commitment to our customers."

Westerlund joined Hemnet as Sales Director in August 2024.

North America: Realtor.com appoints new CTO

Realtor.com has named Janakiraman Karthikeyan as its new Chief Technology Officer.

Karthikeyan replaces the outgoing Chief Technology and Product Officer, Mausam Bhatt, after spending seven years at the online retailer of pet food and supplies, Chewy, where he was VP of Technology.

Damian Eales, CEO at Realtor.com, said:

“I’m proud to welcome Janakiraman to Realtor.com as our new chief technology officer. Technology is at the heart of our mission to be the best open real estate marketplace. Janakiraman’s leadership will help us accelerate innovation, strengthen our platform, and deliver even more value to consumers and our industry partners.”

Karthikeyan said:

"Throughout my career, I've focused on building scalable platforms and using AI and machine learning to create impactful customer experiences. Realtor.com has a powerful mission to be the best open real estate marketplace, and I look forward to working with the team to accelerate innovation and deliver even greater value to consumers, agents, and partners."