NEW YORK – News Corp. has named Ryan O’Hara as Chief Executive Officer of Move, Inc., the operator of realtor.com, the official listing website of the National Association of Realtors.
O’Hara will replace CEO Steven Berkowitz, who has led the company since January 2009. News Corp acquired Move, a leading provider of online real estate services, including realtor.com, last month for $950 million. News Corp., founded by Rupert Murdoch, owns the Wall Street Journal, and other major media properties.
“We are excited to have secured Ryan O’Hara to take the helm at Move, given his record of transforming businesses in the digital age and his clear determination to accelerate the growth of the company. We are also extremely grateful to Steve Berkowitz for his years of astute and principled leadership, during which period he secured greater operating flexibility for the business and put the company on a solid growth trajectory,” said Robert Thomson, Chief Executive of News Corp.
“Ryan’s experience in the digital media and entertainment industry and his deft management skills will be invaluable assets as we pursue the rapid expansion of Move in this era of exponential change. We believe he has the ability to leverage the relationship with our existing US media properties to the benefit of all and to make the most of the significant expertise at REA, our majority-owned, notably successful and still growing digital property site in Australia.”
“Ryan will begin at Move in the first week of January, when we will also be rolling out a broad-based marketing campaign across The Wall Street Journal Digital Network to drive quality traffic to realtor.com,” said Mr. Thomson. “He also looks forward to working closely with the National Association of Realtors, a key and crucial partner of Move, knowing that Realtors are at the heart of American real estate transactions.”
Mr. O’Hara most recently served as a President at the Madison Square Garden Company, leading the MSG Media, technology and marketing partnership divisions. He previously was President and CEO of The Topps Company, a leading entertainment trading card and consumer products business. During his time at Topps, Mr. O’Hara grew market share, formed key partnerships with major sports leagues and player associations, and expanded the business digitally and globally.
Before Topps, Mr. O’Hara was with several News Corporation businesses, including Gemstar TV Guide International/TV Guide Company from 2002 to 2010, the last five years as President of the TV Guide network and several digital businesses. He led the TV Guide network’s transformation from a utility guide to a full-screen entertainment destination and significantly increased its distribution. Between 1999 and 2002, he worked at Fox Cable Networks in Los Angeles and BSkyB in London.
Mr. O’Hara holds a B.A. in Economics from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Through realtor.com and its mobile applications, Move displays more than 98% of all for-sale properties listed in the US. With the freshest, most accurate listing of homes in the market, the Move network of websites reaches more than 30 million people per month.
REA Group Limited, in which News Corp owns a 61.6% interest, has a 20% stake in Move. REA is the operator of the leading Australian residential property website, realestate.com.au.
Based in San Jose, Calif., Move, Inc. is a leading provider of online real estate services. Move operates the realtor.com website and mobile experiences, which connect people to the most important and accurate information they need to find their perfect home and to the REALTORS whose expertise guides consumers through buying and selling. As the official website of the National Association of REALTORS, realtor.com empowers consumers to make smart home buying, selling and renting decisions by leveraging its direct, real-time connections with more than 800 multiple listing services (MLS) via all types of computers, tablets and smartphones. In addition to the industry’s most comprehensive and accurate information, Move’s network of websites provides consumers a wealth of innovative tools, including Doorsteps, Moving.com™, SeniorHousingNet and others. Move supports real estate agents and brokerages by providing many services to grow their businesses, including ListHub, the nation’s leading listing syndicator and centralized intelligence platform for the real estate industry; TigerLead; Top Producer Systems; and FiveStreet; as well as many free services.