At Inman Connect Las Vegas, July 30-Aug. 1, 2024, the noise and misinformation will be banished, all your big questions will be answered, and new business opportunities will be revealed. Join us.
A month after hiring former Freddie Mac executive Christian Lown as its new finance chief, CoStar has made another move to strengthen its executive team amid an intensifying portal war.
The Virginia-based group announced late Thursday that Richard Simonelli is returning to CoStar Group as the new head of investor relations after six years as an independent consultant and SVP of Industry Relations at Compass. Meanwhile, CoStar Group Controller Cindy Eakin was promoted to chief accounting officer. Simonelli and Eakin will report to Lown.
Richard Simonelli | Credit: LinkedIn
Simonelli is a 35-year industry veteran who’s held executive positions at the New York Stock Exchange, Citigate Dewe Rogerson, MS&L, MWW Group, Abbey Road Partners (now known as Simonelli Capital), and Compass. Simonelli’s first tenure with CoStar Group was from 2011 to 2019, where he served as the company’s vice president of investor and public relations.
Eakin has an equally impressive resume at Simonelli, with 35 years of executive finance roles at KMPG US, MCI Corporation, Teleglobe, BearingPoint, Iridium, LivingSocial, Chelfie, and Evolent Health. Eakin joined CoStar Group in 2016 and has served as the vice president controller and the head of investor relations. In her latest role, Eakin will be responsible for corporate accounting, revenue reporting, tax compliance, technical accounting, and policy and financial reporting.
“I’m delighted to welcome Rich back to CoStar Group and announce Cyndi’s promotion,” CoStar Group Founder and Chief Executive Officer Andy Florance said in a statement. “As we enter another era of growth for the company, I believe Rich’s experience with CoStar Group’s ambitious plans and track record of success, combined with his residential real estate industry experience, will be more relevant than ever to CoStar Group. His ability to liaise with our shareholders takes on a renewed importance.”
Cyndi Eakin | Credit: LinkedIn
“And Cyndi’s prior experience as our Controller and most recent experience in Investor Relations make her uniquely suited to oversee our accounting function,” he added. “I look forward to seeing both Cyndi and Rich thrive in these new roles.”
Simonelli and Eakin are the second and third executive hires CoStar Group has made in the past month. In June, the company announced former Freddie Mac Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Christian Lown would be the company’s new chief financial officer.
In his new role, Lown is handling CoStar Group’s financial controls, accounting, ESG strategy, investor relations, financial planning and reporting, tax, capital oversight, and compliance, alongside the task of expanding the company’s financial operations team through robust recruitment and retention efforts.
Florance said Lown’s appointment is key to stoking growth at Homes.com, which is in a broiling battle with Realtor.com over which platform can rightfully claim the title as the second-most trafficked residential portal in the U.S.
Over the past week, Realtor.com filed a theft of trade secrets lawsuit against CoStar Group in the U.S. District Court in California, and an advertising claims challenge with Better Business Bureau National Programs’ National Advertising Division over the company’s use of Homes.com Network figures in ads. The company has vehemently denied any wrongdoing in both instances.
“[Christian] brings an unparalleled understanding of M&A, capital markets and corporate finance and, through his time at Freddie Mac, an intricate knowledge of the homebuying market at a time when our Homes.com platform is experiencing exponential growth,” Florance said in a previous Inman article. “I look forward to working with him to make CoStar Group even stronger in the years ahead.”
