People News Roundup: Juwai, REA Group and Zoopla

The merry-go-round of staff changes spins on and on. Here are a couple of highlight movers in the property portal world in recent weeks.

Juwai IQI hires REA Group Veteran

Juwai IQI has hired Premendran Pathmanathan to be the firm's new Senior Advisor for Data Strategy.

Pathmanathan leaves REA Group after a six year stint as the Asia market's General Manager of Customer Data Solutions.

On his new role, Pathmanathan said:

"Juwai IQI is the world's fastest-growing property technology innovator, not just in Southeast Asia but all 20 countries where it operates. I'm very pleased to join the team and look forward to making the most of the immense data resources Juwai IQI derives from its portals and significant transaction flow."

Juwai reported a 117% increase in transactions in the first three quarters of 2021.

REA Group's GM of Finance Leaves

Saviour Calleja, GM of Finance at REA Group, has left the company after eight years' service.

Interestingly, REA Group hasn't lined up a replacement for Calleja.

Calleja started at REA Group as a commercial manager in 2014 and held four positions in the company including regional finance director.

According to a LinkedIn post, Calleja is leaving to take a "mini career sabbatical". The post goes onto say that he will "explore new roles later this year".

Prior to REA Group, Calleja was a business analysis manager at Catch, and also held positions at Schweppes Australia and TJX Europe.

REA Group, Australia's number one property portal, recently announced a company-wide restructure effective July 1, 2022. It is unknown whether Calleja's departure was planned as part of the restructure, or simply coincided with it.

Zoopla Updates its Lettings Advisory Board

Zoopla has announced the newest members of its Letting Advisory board, an independent non-regulatory group that gives agents a greater say when it comes to decision making at the property portal.

The Board now includes:

1. Carrie Alliston, Lettings Director at Hunters
2. Julie Ford, Founder of Gothard Rowe, More Than Mediation
3. Maxine Fothergill, managing director of Amax Estates & Property Services

Andy Marshall, chief commercial officer at Zoopla and Vice-Chair of the Lettings Advisory Board, said:

"We’re excited to expand the scope of the board and welcome Carrie, Julie and Maxine. Each of them will bring a unique perspective to the group and will help ensure that have a truly representative picture of the market when engaging with the Government."

This Lettings Advisory Board meets quarterly and comprises 13 influential figures that provide a cross-section of views across the property lettings sector.

It seems the Lettings Advisory Board does a good job: Zoopla has the best average Trustpilot score of the major UK portals.