Realtor.com invests in tech, growth with new CTO
A 20-year technology veteran has joined the company to lead tech strategy and “accelerate innovation.” Meanwhile, Rocket’s president is set to retire.
Editor's note: As an industry with millions of agents and over 100,000 brokerage companies, new leaders rise to the top every day. Here we highlight executives and other notable leaders who've recently taken on, or stepped away from, roles that influence the residential real estate landscape.
Tech VP shifts to real estate with new role at Realtor.com
An industry outsider has moved into the C-suite at Realtor.com, the company announced today. Janakiraman Karthikeyan, an experienced engineering and tech executive, joins the real estate powerhouse as chief technology officer.
During his two-decade career, Karthikeyan has worked in multiple industries, earning "a reputation for embedding innovation at the heart of organizations, integrating AI and machine learning into products and processes, and building high-performance engineering teams and culture," according to a Realtor.com news release. He most recently served as vice president of technology at Chewy.
In his new role, he will lead technology strategy in support of Realtor.com's long-term growth goals, the company indicated.
"Technology is at the heart of our mission to be the best open real estate marketplace," said Realtor.com CEO Damian Eales. "Janakiraman's leadership will help us accelerate innovation, strengthen our platform, and deliver even more value to consumers and our industry partners."
Rocket president prepares to retire
Bill Emerson, president of Rocket Companies, is retiring at the end of the year, the company revealed via an SEC filing on Aug. 20.
Emerson began his career with the Rocket family of companies 32 years ago, initially working as a mortgage banker, according to a statement shared with Scotsman Guide, and later serving as vice chairman of Rock Holdings and in a leadership role at Bedrock, an affiliate focused on real estate and development.
But his most notable role was leading Rocket Mortgage as CEO from 2002 to 2017, "managing a changing mortgage market and leading the company through a period of massive growth," according to his Rocket bio. The company has recently been going through another growth spurt with its multibillion-dollar acquisitions of Redfin and Mr. Cooper.
Emerson will remain on Rocket's board of directors, the company noted, which he joined in early 2023. He was named president and COO of Rocket Companies in July 2023 in conjunction with the hiring of Rocket's current CEO, Varun Krishna.