People Roundup: KE Holdings, HousingAnywhere, CoStar, OLX Brazil

This week's People Roundup starts in China, with a big change at the very top of a real estate giant...

Asia: Peng Yongdong resigns as chairman of Chinese portal giant KE Holdings

KE Holdings (also known as Beike) has announced that its chairman, Stanley Peng Yongdong, has resigned from his position and will be replaced by Zuo Donghua.

Donghua was appointed on 3 March 2025, according to Chinese outlet Guandian.cn. Donghua was already a member of Beike's leadership committee.

Yongdong has resigned his positions from several businesses under the KE Holdings umbrella — as legal representative, executive director and general manager of Shanghai Beiru Information Technology Co., Ltd. and as the legal representative of Tianjin Xiaowu Information Technology Co., Ltd. and Chenbei (Tianjin) Technology Co., Ltd.

Europe: HousingAnywhere appoints new CEO

Netherlands-based rentals marketplace HousingAnywhere has appointed Antonio Intini as its new CEO, about a week after previous CEO Djordy Seelmann departed.

Intini joins from the Italian real estate portal Immobiliare, where he served as a business development manager.

According to Dutch-language outlet Vastgoed Journaal:

In his new role, Intini will work to strengthen HousingAnywhere's position as a marketplace for medium-term home rentals in Europe. He will focus on expanding the activities in existing markets and improving the products. In addition, Intini is exploring growth opportunities for HousingAnywhere's brands, including European HousingAnywhere, France-based Studapart, and Dutch Kamernet. [Translated from Dutch]

Meanwhile, Djordy Seelmann is expected to continue to work with HousingAnywhere as an advisor and shareholder after seven years as CEO.

CoStar adds executive hires in Paris and Madrid

The American real estate giant CoStar Group has expanded its European footprint with two key hires in Paris and Madrid.

According to a post on the company's LinkedIn page:

CoStar Group’s footprint continues to grow in Europe with upcoming product launches in France and Spain! Leading this effort is Dean Violagis, Vice President of Research, alongside Delphine Le Corno, Director of Market Research, who recently joined the team in Paris. We’re excited to see the success of our teams in Paris and Madrid as they bring our innovative solutions to new markets.

CoStar recently expanded its London headquarters as it seeks to consolidate its position in the United Kingdom.

Latin America: OLX Brazil hires new CTO

OLX's interim CTO Marcelo Wendling has been given the job full time.

Wendling started at OLX in 2022 as vice president of engineering before being promoted to interim CTO in 2024. He was officially appointed in February, an announcement he confirmed on his personal LinkedIn page.