Compass Inc. said it’s parting ways with Chief Technology Officer Joseph Sirosh as part of a cost-reduction program, a week after the executive sold 40% of his shares in the real estate brokerage.
(Bloomberg) — Compass Inc.
said it’s parting ways with Chief Technology Officer Joseph Sirosh as part of a cost-reduction program, a week after the executive sold 40% of his shares in the real estate brokerage.
Sirosh, who previously worked at Microsoft Corp., was hired by Compass in late 2018.
He offloaded more than 222,460 shares last week and collected $868,000 in proceeds, according to a regulatory filing that said the sales were made under a plan set in May. He didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Compass, which sold the most residential real estate of any US brokerage last year, is grasping for a path to profit as the once-frenzied housing market slows.
Earlier this month, Chief Executive Officer Robert Reffkin promised to slash $320 million in expenses while seeking to generate positive cash flow.
Those cuts are expected to land heavily on the company’s technology operation.
Compass has invested more than $900 million to build out a software platform designed to help its agents do their jobs more effectively.
While the technology is viewed by some as industry-leading, it has yet to help Compass turn an annual profit. The company, which cut 10% of its workforce in June, said last week it plans another round of layoffs by October.
“With the successful rollout of the Compass technology platform, Compass now enters its next phase,” the company said in a statement.
It’s “focused on enhancing and building tools that help our over 28,000 agent-entrepreneurs grow their businesses.”
Chief Financial Officer Kristen Ankerbrandt announced in May that she would be leaving Compass in September.
The company isn’t planning to appoint another CTO to replace Sirosh. Instead, Kendra Shimmell will be head of product and Shay Artzi will be head of engineering.
Shares of Compass, which started trading at $18 in early 2021, closed Thursday at $3.26.
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