Propertyguru elevates Hari Krishnan to CEO role

PropertyGuru Asia has named Hari V. Krishnan (pictured left), president and chief business officer as CEO. Meanwhile current CEO Steve Melhuish (pictured right), who is also a co-founder of the company will take on a vice chairman role.This transition is part of a process initiated two years ago by the co-founder to develop a world-class leadership team and succession plan. Krishnan was identified as a potential CEO successor in 2015, with the latter bringing to the table over 15 years of leadership experience in the Technology industry in the US and Asia.Krishnan was previously managing director for LinkedIn in the Asia Pacific region since January 2013. Krishnan was LinkedIn’s first employee in Asia. Prior to the role of managing director, he served as country manager for India from November 2009 to December 2012.At Property Guru, he was tasked to focus on leading and accelerating regional business growth initiatives, with country managers and sales enablement teams in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia reporting directly to him.Melhuish said, “PropertyGuru is in a very strong position today, with our brands holding the number one position in all our core markets. Revenue and traffic continue to grow rapidly, and we’re on track to return to profitability next year – after five years of aggressive investment in regional expansion, product innovation, marketing, and developing a world-class leadership team. As such, we felt that now was the right time to pass the baton.”Melhuish continued, “Krishnan’s done a stellar job as our CBO these past eight months. His exceptional leadership and people development skills, and vast experience in managing large teams across a complex set of markets and businesses make him the ideal candidate to continue the PropertyGuru success journey.”