Compass names new CTO; CoStar expands board of directors 

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.

Compass promotes engineering exec to C-suite

Compass International Holdings CEO Robert Reffkin has announced the promotion of Shay Artzi to the role of chief technology officer. The move elevates Artzi, who has been with the company since early 2021, into the C-suite.

Artzi began at Compass as senior director of engineering before moving up to VP of engineering in early 2022 and, a few months later, to the SVP of engineering role, according to his LinkedIn page. In his new position, Artzi will work on bringing the 340,000 or so real estate professionals now part of the Compass network following the company's acquisition of Anywhere Real Estate onto one unified tech platform.

"I'm confident he is the right leader to empower our real estate professionals with technology that helps them grow their businesses and better serve their clients," Reffkin said in a March 13 social media post.

Neda Navab, who was also recently promoted to serve as Compass' president, echoed Reffkin's confidence in Artzi in a social media comment.

"A true leader and visionary for the industry! We are all lucky to work with and learn from you Shay," Navab wrote.

Engel & Völkers Florida CEO steps down

Peter Giese has announced that he is leaving his post as CEO of Engel & Völkers Florida.

Giese first joined Engel & Völkers in 2019 and was promoted to the executive role in 2022. Giese previously held top leadership and sales roles at United Real Estate (where he worked for eight years before joining Engel & Völkers), Realogy (before the company became Anywhere) and Move, Inc.

In a post last week on LinkedIn, Giese described his time leading Engel & Völkers Florida as an "incredible chapter" in his career.

"It has been a privilege working alongside the outstanding license partners, advisors and leaders to exponentially grow the brand throughout the state," Giese said, noting that his team expanded to 51 shops in 2025 — more than "the combined presence of the brand in California and Texas."

"I am grateful for everyone who was part of this journey, and energized for the next adventure and opportunity," Giese added.

CoStar expands board of directors

CoStar Group has appointed Nana Banerjee to serve as an independent member of its board of directors. The move expands CoStar's board to nine members total — eight of whom are independent — at a time when the company is facing investor criticism of its board's backing of Founder and CEO Andy Florance.

Banerjee brings more than two decades of leadership experience in global technology and data-driven businesses. He most recently served as president and CEO of Pelmorex Corp., and previously held leadership roles at Cerberus Capital Management, McGraw-Hill, Verisk, Argus Information & Advisory Services and Citibank's U.K. credit card business.

Banerjee is "a highly experienced executive" and "a respected industry leader with deep expertise spanning centralized data, AI, and advanced analytics organizations," Florance said in a news release.

"We look forward to benefiting from his distinct perspective as we advance our proven strategy to drive accelerated, profitable growth and long-term stockholder value," Florance added.

Editor's note: AI was used in the initial drafting of this content, which was then thoroughly reviewed, fact-checked and revised by a Real Estate News editor.