Now streaming: Compass taps Amazon Video exec as chief product officer

Greg Hart led e-commerce giant’s video streaming

Robert Reffkin and Greg Hart (Credit: Brad Barket/Getty Images for Fast Company, Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Robert Reffkin and Greg Hart (Credit: Brad Barket/Getty Images for Fast Company, Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Lights, camera, Compass? The residential brokerage has hired Greg Hart, an Amazon Video executive, as its new chief product officer.

The move comes as the SoftBank-backed brokerage looks to be rebuilding its C-suite after several high-profile departures last year, including COO Maelle Gavet.

Hart, who spent more than two decades at Amazon, most recently led the e-commerce giant’s video streaming service. He previously worked as a technical advisor to Jeff Bezos, and was a vice president of Amazon Echo and Speech.

Hart will be based in Seattle, reporting to Compass CEO Robert Reffkin, Bloomberg reported.

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The New York-based firm, which has raised $1.5 billion from investors, was most recently valued at $6.4 billion. The company ended 2019 with 15,500 agents across 325 offices around the country; but it has faced an uneven path toward achieving an ambitious goal of capturing 20 percent market share in 20 major cities, as The Real Deal recently reported.

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Hart’s appointment comes amid looming questions about the valuations of fast-growing startups with unclear paths to profitability.

Last year, sources told TRD that turmoil in Compass’ C-suite led to several notable departures.

In April 2019, Compass’ chief people officer and general counsel left the firm, followed by its chief marketing officer and head of product in June.

Last month, Compass named Sara Patterson, a former Walmart executive, as its chief people officer. It also named Pamela Thomas-Graham, a banking, fashion and media executive, as its first independent director (and the first woman on the board). https://therealdeal.com/2020/02/26/compass-adds-first-independent-director-to-board/

Joseph Sirosh, Compass’ chief technology officer, joined the firm in 2018 from Microsoft Corp. [Bloomberg]E.B. Solomont