Former Countrywide divisional manager Lee Wainright has been made CEO of Purplebricks’ UK operation as the pressures of running a global empire bear down on the company’s founder and previous CEO Michael Bruce (pictured, right).

Lee has been the company’s operational chief since March last year and before that enjoyed a long career at Countrywide, which he joined as a school leaver and during a 26-year stint there rose to be a Divisional Managing Director, a post he held for 12 years.

During his short tenure at Purplebricks Lee (pictured, left) has overseen the growth of its operational and customer service teams, a key plank in its attempt to persuade vendors and landlords that it is a ‘proper estate agent’ as the current ‘wedding’ TV advert proclaims.

This has included Lee’s direct involvement in training up some 300 Local Property Experts, the launch of its new ‘concierge’ style customer support service based in Derbyshire, and the launch of both a Post Sales Support and Conveyancing Sales team.

As well as promoting Lee to CEO, Purplebricks has recruited a former British Gas call centre professional, Sophie Fox (pictured, below), to run the Purplebricks telephone lines.

“We are very fortunate to have someone of Lee’s experience and track record in the industry heading up our UK business,” says Michael Bruce.

“He brings with him extensive leadership and industry expertise from his senior roles at Countrywide, and has already demonstrated his value in his time as COO at Purplebricks.

“Having grown to be one of the leading estate agents in the country in such a short period of time brings with it the need to develop and scale‐up our people and capabilities in customer service, recruitment, training, and build a broader business offering.”