Opendoor Technologies Inc. announced the appointment of Chief Financial Officer Carrie Wheeler as chief executive officer.
Wheeler served as CFO of Opendoor for the last two years and as a member of the company’s board prior to that. She brings deep financial acumen and operating insight to her role, coupled with her 25 years in private equity and board experience across numerous consumer companies, Opendoor said.
“I am honored to have the opportunity to lead Opendoor as we transform the way to buy and sell real estate,” said Wheeler. “We’ve built a solid financial foundation with a strong balance sheet and liquidity position that sets us up to not just manage through this current housing cycle but emerge stronger with market leadership. We will be focused on continuing to drive operational excellence, enhancing our unit economics, and delivering a best-in-class customer experience. Furthermore, we are excited to continue to innovate and empower Eric to drive the development of our third-party marketplace.”
Eric Wu, the current CEO, will transition to a new role as president, Marketplace, effective immediately and will continue to serve on the board.
“Over several years, I built conviction that our third-party marketplace is what homebuyers and sellers need, will fundamentally change how all homes are transacted and is a critical piece of Opendoor’s future. Thus, I’ve made the decision to focus my time and energy on building and delivering on this vision,” said Wu. “More importantly, I know firsthand that Carrie’s depth of experience and leadership will be foundational to our success in this next chapter.”
Christy Schwartz, who has served as chief accounting officer since March 2021, has been named interim chief financial officer while the company searches for a permanent CFO.
In addition to the above changes, John Rice, who has served on the Opendoor board since 2021, has been appointed lead independent director, and the company has expanded the size of its board to nine directors. President Andrew Low Ah Kee has also resigned from his role to pursue other opportunities and will remain as a strategic advisor to the company through Q1 2023.
“These leadership changes enable Opendoor to focus on both financial and operational excellence while continuing to innovate and lead disruptive change for the real estate industry,” said Rice. “Carrie is a seasoned executive capable of managing and growing the business, while Eric will return to his founder roots as he focuses on building and redefining the real estate experience.”
For more information, visit www.opendoor.com.
