I won’t try to read between the precious few lines of the press release announcing Lorna Borenstein’s departure as Move’s president.
But I will offer this opinion: I hope the company takes this opportunity to leave behind once and for all the arrogance and bellicosity that has marked its executive
ranks since the beginning of online real estate time.
When Lorna Borenstein spoke on a panel at Real Estate Connect last July, I was struck by the carelessness with which she repeated the mistakes of her predecessors. There was the condescension laced with hostility toward others in the space (Zillow and Trulia got the worst of it in this instance); the expressions of Realtor love that seem forced; the defensiveness uncharacteristic of a “category leader.”
I kept thinking “Why is she doing this?” as she spoke.
Stuart Wolff fancied himself a filmmaker before getting into legal trouble.
Mike Long righted the ship admirably, but engaged in an unadmirable sort of Realtor populism aimed at “interlopers.”
Allan Dalton, an undeniably smart man well liked by many in the industry, seemed to think sneering was a good communications strategy. I still can’t watch this video without feeling ill, even though I agree with some of his underlying points.
Steve Ozonian broke this mold, but was eclipsed by the dark shadow of Wolff’s regime. Errol Samuelson, Realtor.com’s current president, always speaks with brains and class.
I hope the company takes cues from them as they turn yet another page.
– Brian Boero
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Would love to see some video of the speech you refer to…..
You can see it if you're an Inman member
I hope to see a change in the way Move has used Realtor.com. Maybe there is hope!
You just lost all credibility by attributing brains and class to Errol Samualson.
You could easily get lost in the space between those lines…
Borenstein started at Move two years ago promising to be exactly the kind of rejuvenating influence that the company severely needs. But over time she just seemed to lose interest, as well as all credibility within the company itself, and became just another in the company's parade of past well-paid but ultimately ineffectual executives.
Samuelson presents much better and classier than most of Move's present and past execs, but if you knew anything about the politics going on within the company, you might phrase that statement differently.
The new CEO Berkowitz is saying a lot of the right things as he moves into his new job. But many within the company remember that Borenstein did, too, so most are simply waiting and watching to see what if anything will be different this time around.
exactly Brian…they need to look at the Flint, Kelman, Barton model for some direction. Why is that so hard?
Do they really think that 'fox-hole' strategy will eventually work? Is the NAR inextricably aligned with the Republican Party?