After the unceremonious dismissal of its former CEO and while in the midst of its housecleaning, Housing.com appoints its new Chief Business Officer Jason Kothari. According to a report from dnaindia.com, the reins were given to him to drive the company's overall strategy as well as the growth in India.
Aside from his duties as Chief Business Officer, he would also sit in the company's operating committee, where Softbank of Japan has majority control.
His appointment was without much fanfare. Housing.com, in a statement, said, "Jason, together with interim CEO and COO Rishabh Gupta will be reporting to the operating committee and the Board."
Kothari previously held positions as co-founder and CEO of Valiant Entertainment, according to a report from economictimes.indiatimes.com. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and would be the latest addition to the management group after the ouster of CEO Rahul Yadav.
The operating committee is headed by Jonathan Bullock, Softbank's representative on the board of Housing.com. Other members include interim CEO Gupta, angel investor Haresh Chawla and Chief Technical Officer Abhishek Anand.
Amongst the latest changes in the company is the layoff of nearly 600 employees, as reported by realtytoday.com. A top executive at Housing.com, who declined to be named, said, "Housing is being completely restructured and performance for each employee across departments is being (scrutinized). While some people have been asked to leave because businesses are being shut down, others because of underperformance and in some cases due to overstaffing."
Housing.com is one of the few successful startups and the first real estate portal success in India. Its intuitive user interface and verifiable listings module. The company was able to raise investments at about US$120 million. It is currently valued at a net worth of US$234 million.
With the new head management, the company is expected to reap further success in the future.
