Inman

Zillow’s Rich Barton to help foster relationships between business leaders at Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES)

From left to right, Inman News publisher Brad Inman, NAR CEO Dale Sinton and Zillow Chairman Rich Barton at Real Estate Connect. Credit: flickr/Erik (HASH) Hersman.

Rich Barton, co-founder and chairman of listing portal Zillow, will deliver a keynote address at the Fourth Annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) in Kuala Lumpur on Oct. 12, Zillow announced in a statement.

The event, first held in Washington, D.C., was launched by President Obama in 2009 to foster relationships between global business leaders. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry kicked off this year’s summit with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Zillow said.

Barton is of 31 “notable speakers” listed on the event’s website.

Rich Barton

His scheduled appearance marks the latest PR triumph for the company, coming two months after Zillow’s CEO, Spencer Rascoff, moderated a discussion with President Obama about the U.S. housing market.

The listing portal’s sponsorship of the discussion nettled the National Association of Realtors, which said that it expressed “serious concerns” about Zillow’s involvement in the discussion “directly to the White House.”

Barton’s speech will explore the conference’s theme, “empowering and connecting entrepreneurs,” and will begin at 9 p.m. Eastern time. It will air live on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLlI5UCyA-sgve3e4IPDstg?v=qFTned6jYow.

After his remarks, Barton will field questions asked through Twitter.

Lorraine Hahn, a former anchor and correspondent for CNN International and CNBC Asia, will moderate the discussion. People may submit questions using the hashtag #GESQARichB.