PropertyGuru Replaces CEO, Chairman After EQT Acquisition

Online real estate platform PropertyGuru announced on Monday that it is bringing in new leadership, exactly one month after Sweden’s EQT Group completed its acquisition of the property listings portal.

Singapore-based PropertyGuru announced the appointment of Lewis Ng, who had previously served as the company’s chief business officer and a veteran of a number of online listings providers, as the company’s new CEO with effect from March.

“With a strong track record across globally renowned brands such as Seek, TripAdvisor and Apple in addition to his earlier stint with PropertyGuru, I am confident he will bring a fresh perspective to our organisation while staying deeply aligned with our vision and values,” current PropertyGuru CEO Group Hari Krishnan said. Krishnan, who has served as CEO of the company for 9 years, said he decided to pursue new interests but will still stay on PropertyGuru’s board as a senior advisor.

In his new role, Ng will be responsible for the property classifieds platform’s growth and innovation strategy under its new owner. PropertyGuru has also appointed Trevor Mather, current chairman of Baltic Classifieds Group, as its chairman of the board, pointing to his experience in scaling marketplaces from his previous stint as chief executive of online car market place Auto Trader.

New owner, New leadership

PropertyGuru said in its announcement that it looks to tap Ng’s expertise in scaling sales, customer service, strategy and operations across a range of businesses.

Ng, who most recently served as the chief operating officer for Australian jobs platform Seek, spent nearly six years at PropertyGuru from 2014 to 2019, serving as a managing director for two years before being promoted to chief business officer.

Following his initial tour at PropertyGuru , Ng worked as chief operating officer at Singapore-based online marketplace Carousell for two years before joining Seek.

EQT is installing Ng and Mather after it signed an all-cash deal to buy PropertyGuru for $1.1 billion in August. PropertyGuru, which has more than 2.1 million real estate listings on its Southeast Asia-focused platform, was previously backed by fund managers KKR and TPG.

In its statement following the completion of the deal in December 2024, EQT Group said it aims to accelerate PropertyGuru’s technology development, expand market reach, and improve overall operational efficiency.

Looking to the Future

In addition to naming its new chairman and chief executive, PropertyGuru said in the same announcement that EQT head of private capital for Southeast Asia Janice Leow and Ed Williams, founder and former CEO of UK property marketplace Rightmove are now directors on its board. Williams also shares work history with Mather, having served as chairman of Auto Trader.

Following EQT’s acquisition, PropertyGuru was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange in December 2024. In its last financial report in September, the company reported a second-quarter net loss of S$16 million, up from its first-quarter net loss of S$6 million.

In February last year, the company announced that it would lay off about 5 percent of its workforce, characterising the elimination of around 79 jobs as part of preparations for its, “next phase of growth”.

“The company’s journey over the past decade under Hari’s leadership has been remarkable, and I am excited to build on this strong foundation as we look to the future. I am honored to lead PropertyGuru in its next chapter and work alongside our talented teams to continue driving growth and delivering value to our customers across Southeast Asia,” Ng said.