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Agencies & People

Purplebricks appoints new interim CEO in the US

Company says former No.2 at the business is to work at creating a new strategy for the hybrid agency in America and stem its huge losses there.

Nigel Lewis

Purplebricks has appointed an interim CEO for its US business following the shock departure of launch boss Eric Eckhardt in February.

Phil Felice (pictured, above) is to lead the company in the short term while Purplebricks decides what to do with its American operation, which it said earlier this month it wanted to ‘review’ following the departure of Purplebricks’ group CEO and co-founder Michael Bruce, and its exit from the Australian market.

Felice was the company’s Vice President of sales for two years before being made its overall No.2 earlier this year. Before that he worked at online US property auction website Hubzu and also did a stint working for Foxtons in New York.

“We are currently assessing a number of different scenarios around how we operate in the US but remain optimistic about the opportunity for Purplebricks here,” says Vic Darvey, it group CEO.

“Phil will be fundamental in helping us develop a more sustainable business model, based on a tested and cost-efficient strategy.”

Brand awareness

Felice says he believes Purplebricks has made positive headway with its brand awareness and engagement in the US to date, and that he wants to work “closely with Vic and the leadership team as we develop our strategy for the US business and show our customers a more convenient, transparent and cost effective way of buying and selling their homes,” he says.

The company’s most recent results revealed that the US made an operating loss of £20.5 million last year, reflecting the huge costs the company is incurring as it tries to expand quickly across the US.

 

 

May 20, 2019

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