Ryan O’Hara is exiting Move, Inc., operator of realtor.com®, effective June 18, according to an announcement by the company on Thursday. O’Hara, who was appointed CEO of the company in 2015, will be changing industries, assuming another chief executive role.
Tracey Fellows, president of Global Digital Real Estate at News Corp, Move’s parent, will act as CEO in the interim, and will continue on in her current role simultaneously. Fellows was formerly CEO of REA Group, which has a 20 percent stake in Move, and is also owned by News Corp.
“I am grateful to Rupert Murdoch, Robert Thomson and News Corp for affording me the opportunity to lead five different businesses on two continents over two stints with this great company,” said O’Hara in a statement. “My time at Move has been especially rewarding both professionally and personally. I am proud of the business results and the many great professionals I worked with who helped achieve them. There is no doubt that realtor.com is smartly positioned for an even brighter future.”
News Corp acquired Move for $950 million in 2014. Last year, Move purchased Opcity, a platform for real estate referrals, for $210 million, building out the lead-generation offerings of realtor.com. According to News Corp, its Digital Real Estate Services revenues have soared since 2013, and is the biggest contributor to its profitability, generating more than $1.1 billion in FY 2018.
“Ryan has transformed realtor.com, overseeing a period of remarkable growth, with revenues more than doubling during his tenure,” said Robert Thomson, chief executive of News Corp, in a statement. “Ryan and the talented team have helped realtor.com more than triple the number of unique users since our acquisition less than five years ago, reaching an all-time record of more than 73 million in May.
“I wish Ryan all the very best with his next challenge and have no doubt that Tracey will be a brilliant leader at realtor.com while she is at the helm,” Thomson said. “Tracey’s impact on our digital real estate operations has already been profoundly positive as she has brought extra verve and vision to the businesses.”
“From the expansion of revenues, audiences and engagement to the launch of new products and the acquisition of Opcity, Ryan and everyone at Move have done so much to put realtor.com on a path to ever greater accomplishment in the future,” said Fellows. “We wish Ryan every success in his next venture, and it will be an honor to work so closely with the great team he’s assembled.”
Stay tuned for updates.
