People Roundup: Lamudi Philippines, Private Property

This week's hiring roundup is shorter, but our two stories both come straight from the C-suite.

Lamudi Philippines hires new COO

Lamudi Philippines, which is owned by the Australia-based Digital Classifieds Group (DCG), has hired Lars Hougaard as COO, who joins from the same role at Cambodian portal Realestate.com.kh.

Hougaard, who will report to Lamudi Philippines CEO Anurag Verma, has also spent time at real estate companies PopDeal and FazWaz.

Hougaard said:

"A big thank you to Mathew Care [founder] for entrusting me with the opportunity to lead and nurture an incredible team in Phnom Penh and to Mark Nosworthy [Group CEO] for offering me this exciting new opportunity in Manila."

DCG acquired Lamudi Philippines from Emerging Markets Property Group last year, a deal that also saw the Group snap up EMPG's Indonesian assets.

Private Property appoints new CEO

South African real estate marketplace Private Property has promoted COO Theo Mseka to CEO, effective 1 May 2024.

Mseka has been promoted after 18 months at the company, replacing outgoing CEO Charl Bruyns.

Mseka spent eight years at another South African portal, Property24, including three years as CPO, and spent a further two years as the head of Marketplaces at BetterHome Group before joining Private Property.

On the appointment, the new CEO said:

"I am thrilled to be stepping into this role next month and feel honoured to be leading a dedicated team with the people, knowledge and skills needed to propel Private Property to new heights.

"I also look forward to collaborating even more closely with our established client base of market-leading agents and developers so that we can keep delivering innovative products and solutions that enhance their businesses and drive them forward. As CEO, one of my key focus areas will be growing this base to include all agents in South Africa so that they too can benefit from the added value we bring to our clients."