Eric A. Danziger, president and chief executive officer of real estate brokerage company ZipRealty, will step down Aug. 1, and the company’s chief financial officer will become president, though the company has not yet found a CEO to succeed Danziger, ZipRealty said today.
Also, Don Wood, general partner of Vanguard Ventures in Palo Alto, Calif., has been elected chairman of the board of directors, and will aid in the search for a new CEO, the company said.
“Having led ZipRealty through tremendous growth over the past five years, Mr. Danziger plans to move back to his home in Arizona to spend more time with his family,” the company said in a statement.
During the five years under Danziger’s leadership, company revenues increased at a compounded annual rate of approximately 88 percent, the company said. Danziger has agreed to remain in his current position through Aug. 1 to assist in the transition, according to the company.
Scott Kucirek, ZipRealty’s executive vice president of new market development, left the company in November 2005 “to pursue other interests and spend time with his family,” according to a statement the company filed in November with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
On March 1, ZipRealty announced that its agents closed about 25 percent more real estate transactions representing about 25 percent more transaction volume in fourth-quarter 2005 compared to fourth-quarter 2004.
Net revenues reached $21.6 million for the fourth quarter, which ended Dec. 31, the company said in March. This represents a 23 percent increase over the $17.5 million net revenue reported in fourth-quarter 2004, ZipRealty announced.
Danziger recommended to ZipRealty’s board of directors that Gary M. Beasley, the company’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, be promoted to president and the board endorsed that recommendation, the company said.
“At this time the company remains comfortable with the full year 2006 earnings guidance provided on its February 28, 2006, earnings call,” ZipRealty said in a statement.
“We regret that Eric has decided to leave ZipRealty but certainly understand his desire to spend more time with his family in Arizona,” Beasley said in a statement.
“His vision, leadership and energy have been instrumental in building ZipRealty into what it is today, and he will be greatly missed. I appreciate the confidence he and the board have shown in me by elevating my responsibilities, and I look forward to the opportunity to continue our mission of making ZipRealty one of the premier consumer-focused brokerages in the country,” Beasley said.
Beasley has been CFO of ZipRealty since joining the company in 2001, and in addition to leading the initial public offering along with Danziger in 2004, he has helped oversee operations and the refinement of the Company’s business model and strategy, the company said.
Wood, the new head of the board of directors, was ZipRealty’s initial investor and a member of the board since the company’s inception in 1999, and plans to be actively involved in the transition and search for a new CEO, the company said.
ZipRealty operates in 14 major metro areas, most recently expanding into the Las Vegas and Houston markets. Next year, ZipRealty expects to expand into an additional four to six markets. ZipRealty offers rebates to buyers who work with its agents and discounts to sellers, and the company relies heavily on its technology platform to generate new business.
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