People Roundup: Immowelt, Ringier, PropertyGuru Group, Opendoor

This week's people roundup features C-suite appointments in Europe and Asia. We'll start in Germany...

Europe: Immowelt appoints new CMO

Immowelt, the German real estate marketplace owned by Aviv Group, has appointed Frida Alisson as Chief Marketing Officer. Elisson will oversee brand management and marketing activities.

Theo Mseka, Managing Director of immowelt, said:

"With Frida Elisson, we have gained an extremely experienced leader for our team. As a proven marketing expert with in-depth knowledge of e-commerce, she has demonstrated her ability to lead and position strong brands with innovative ideas and campaigns."

Elisson commented:

"The next era of the real estate industry will be more digital and customer-centric. Those who combine data and technology with a deep understanding of people's needs will shape the future. Immowelt is a strong brand with a long tradition, and I am highly motivated and determined to drive its growth in the coming years."

Ringier's Commercial Lead steps down after over a decade at Homsters

Dmytro Aleksandrov has announced his imminent departure as CEO of Homsters and GLU Commercial Lead at Ringier.

Commenting on LinkedIn, Aleksandrov said:

"End of a chapter. At the end of December, I will officially leave my roles as CEO at Homsters and GTU Commercial lead at Ringier. "It has been a fantastic journey of 10+ years. I am very proud to look back on the impact we've made in the New builds market across Europe, Asia, and Africa. Homsters' software platform will continue to independently operate under local leadership in Poland (Noweinwestycje.pl) and Kazakhstan (homsters.kz). Our know-how and software components have been integrated into other real estate platforms of Ringier AG."

Homsters is a Singapore-based software company with offices in Ukraine and Kazakhstan. The company, a leading SaaS provider for automated digital marketing solutions in the primary property segment, was acquired by Ringier in 2022.

North America: Opendoor management shakeup continues

Opendoor has added two new names to its executive team, appointing Lucas Matheson as President, while Christy Schwartz has been appointed CFO permanently after a short stint as interim CFO. Opendoor said Schwartz was appointed internally after the company conducted an extensive external search.

Shrisha Radhakrishna will continue as Chief Technology and Product Officer after serving as interim President.

Opendoor has undergone major shifts since Shopify's Kaz Nejatian joined as CEO this September, as one of the few remaining iBuyers remodels itself towards product and away from flipping properties at scale. The company was fortunate to escape being delisted from Nasdaq this summer after its share price fell below the minimum trading threshold of $1.

Asia: PropertyGuru Group names new Chief People Officer

PropertyGuru Group has appointed Ruth Kerr as its new Chief People Officer, succeeding Helen Snowball, who stepped down after nearly three years in the role.

Kerr was promoted after joining the company as Head of HR in 2024.