Hiring Roundup: New CEOs for Adevinta and Cian, Zillow's Chief Economist Returns and a C-Level Reshuffle at Hemnet

It may well be that the only thing hotter than Europe's summer right now is the real estate portal job market. We've had some big names make some big moves irecently. Here's the best of them:

Adevinta

Adevinta, one of the biggest names in the portal world, has a new CEO. His name is Antoine Jouteau, and he steps up from his position as CEO of Adevinta's French marketplace business to replace outgoing CEO Rolv Erik Ryssdal, who is retiring.

Jouteau has been at Adevinta since 2009, and rose through the ranks to become CEO of Leboncoin—a highly popular French marketplace— in 2015, a position he held until his recent promotion. Adevinta's Board of Directors were unanimous in their decision to promote him to CEO.

Meanwhile, Rolv Erik Ryssdal is leaving his role after four years in the role. He has been at Adevinta since 1991. He will officially stand down on the 14th of August, but will work closely with Jouteau to 'ensure a smooth transition'.

On his appointment, Jouteau said:

"I am excited by the challenge of leading our continued growth, and creating long-term value for our shareholders, users, business customers, employees and future talent.

"With our focus on creating and leveraging innovative technology and capabilities across the group, we are reinventing the way people consume goods and services, by building transactional marketplaces for all generations. I would like to thank the Board for their trust and know that I can rely on the support of all Adevintans, united in our commitment to accelerate the development of the circular economy.”

Orla Noonan, Board Chair at Adevinta, said:

"Antoine is a proven leader with a deep understanding of the global marketplaces industry, and an impressive track record of successfully building and scaling local brands. By continuously reinventing and diversifying leboncoin, he has built one of the most visited websites in France, with over 29 million monthly users, and more than doubled revenues and profit during his tenure as CEO.

"Antoine is uniquely positioned to accelerate Adevinta’s growth ambitions, given his ability to lead, innovate and execute during a period of rapid consumer change, industry disruption and technological advancement. We are confident that Antoine’s product background and relentless focus on the customer experience makes him the ideal new leader for Adevinta."

Adevinta posted solid if unspectacular results in Q1 2022, with revenue and EBITDA holding steady:

Zillow

Zillow has rehired former Chief Economist Dr. Skylar Olsen.

Olsen was a foundational member of the Zillow Economic Research program from 2012 to 2020, including the role of senior senior principal economist.

Her return coincides with Dr Orphe Divounguy joining Zillow's Economic Research team as a senior economist. The Zillow research team now consists of seven people: Drs Olsen and Divounguy, senior economists Jeff Tucker and Matthew Speakman, economist Nicole Bachaud, economic analyst Anushna Prakash and data visualization specialist Elizabeth Kimn.

Olsen had previously left Zillow to found her own consultancy firm, Reimagine Economics, but said she jumped at the opportunity to return to Zillow to continue where she left off.

Dr Olsen said: "I'm honored to return to Zillow as chief economist and help home buyers, sellers and renters across the country better understand their options and how to best navigate what has become an increasingly trying housing market. I truly revel in the opportunity to provide the tools and information to help people make some of the biggest, most impactful decisions of their lives."

Hemnet

Jens Melin will become Hemnet's interim Chief Financial Officer on 9 August this year, with Carl Johan Akesson leaving the business. The Stockholm-based portal company will continue its search for a full-time CFO in the meantime.

Melin takes on the role after three years at Hemnet as the company's Head of Group Accounting & Control.

Additionally, Hemnet will strengthen its management team with two new members: Anna Kempe as Chief People and Culture officer, and Peter Frey as Chief Technology Officer.

Cecelia Beck-Friis, CEO at Hemnet, said:

"I am very pleased that Jens has agreed to take on the role of interim CFO while we continue searching for a permanent solution. The company is in very good hands with Jens, as he is both experienced and competent and knows Hemnet and our financial processes well."

"I am also looking forward to welcoming two more colleagues to our management team. Both Anna and Peter have long and extensive experience in their respective fields and will be excellent additions to our management team and organisation. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank PerOla [Schelvander, outgoing CTO] for his efforts as CTO during a time when the development of Hemnet's technical platform has been absolutely central to our success and growth."

Hemnet operates the leading property platform in Sweden. The company was founded in 1998 and is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm.

Cian

Dmitry Grigoryev has stepped up from CPO to CEO, with Artem Glebov taking on the role of CPO in his place.

Grigoryev takes over from Maxim Melnikov, who has served as CEO from 2014. Melnikov has been appointed Executive Chairperson of the Board of Directors at Cian plc, and he will also advise Grigoryev.

Grigoryev held the CPO position at Cian from April 2019 to May 2022, and has taken on the responsibilities of CEO since June. He was previously the co-founder and CPO at IT marketplace RuBrain.

On his appointment, Grigoryev said: “I am truly honored to lead Cian as its Chief Executive Officer. I look forward to continuing to work closely with our exceptional senior leadership team, along with Maxim, as our Chairperson and my advisor, and our entire Board of Directors.

"Cian unites a team of exceptionally talented people with the passion to create best-in-class products and provide exceptional services to our users and customers. Together, we will continue creating new growth opportunities, disrupting the Russian real estate market, delivering value to our shareholders and, of course, helping people on the journey to their perfect new place to live or work."

Melnikov said:

"It has been an honor and a privilege for me to lead Cian through this journey, and I am proud of what our team has achieved in the last two decades. I believe that during my time as Chief Executive Officer we have built a sustainable and well-managed business as well as a unique corporate culture.

"I remain fully committed to Cian, and it is my intention to remain active in the Company as the new executive chair of the Board. I am also tremendously grateful for being able to leave the Company in the hands of Dmitriy, who has spearheaded our development for many years. I couldn't be more confident in his managerial skills, and the capacities of the top management team that will be supporting him."

Cian is a leading online real estate classifieds platform in the large, underpenetrated and growing Russian real estate classifieds market, with a strong presence across Russia and leading positions in the country’s key metropolitan areas. The Company ranks among the top fifteen most popular online real estate classifieds globally in terms of traffic (based on SimilarWeb traffic data for other online real estate classifieds and Google Analytics data for Cian for March 2022).