Saul Klein as CEO of Point2… really?

Saul is a top-notch guy in the industry and very well respected, but still… for Point2 to bring him on as the new CEO definitely has me scratching my head.

I’ve talked with Saul a few times at conferences and I really like him. What Saul brings to the table is some of the best contacts in the industry, which should definitely not be underestimated. However what I liked most about Point2 was that they were ahead of the technology curve on industry issues like listing syndication and understanding how to use listing content to generate great SEO. In the three years that I’ve been watching InternetCrusade, I’m yet to see them do something that tells me they want to be on the leading edge.

From the comments on Jay’s post and the fact that he plans to retain his role as head of InternetCrusade, is all the more indicative that Point2 will likely try to use industry connections to get the edge as oppose to cutting-edge technology. Kind of like how InternetCrusades has used the management of NAR’s ePro designation to prop-up and build their RealTown blog platform which (at least in my opinion) would otherwise lack the features needed to attract real estate professionals or consumers.

With that said, I’ve heard some realtors that have an incredible devotion to the InternetCrusade guys because of the great work that they’ve done over the years introducing (softly) Realtors all over the country to internet technologies, which will make it all the more interesting to see what Saul does at Point2.

Nonethless, if you had any doubts, Point2 Agent will be a different company going forward.

And again, huge props go to Jay for his top-notch reporting on the changes at Point2.

6 responses

  1. Indeed it is a bit of a head scratcher….

    Given the recent exodus of top level management, I think it’s a good move to bring in a well respected industry icon such as Saul. It does alleviate a lot of concerns that Point2 was self-destructing and adds some much needed stability at this point.

    And I *might* be able to make an argument that the CEO doesn’t directly drive all of the innovation. The previous CEO didn’t really do that (but most of the ones who recently departed did).

    What’s interesting to me is Saul will really be the first P2 exec with direct real estate experience. That may be a good thing.

    Or maybe not. Only time will tell. But I do suspect P2 will be a different company moving forward. Different could be good, bad or just different.

    Thanks for the props…

  2. Dustin, Your perspective is very short sighted and I am amazed at your disconnect regarding Saul and innovation on the Internet. Saul was probably the FIRST real estate visionary who saw what was coming with the Internet.

    You need to come over to RealTown Blogs and take one for a spin!

    http://www.realtown.com/realtownreport/blog/news/saulkleinceopoint2

    Don’t know about HTML here .. http://tinyurl.com/38cs2o

  3. […] December 20, 2007 by Dustin …my post about Saul. […]

  4. […] as with another recent InternetCrusade-related announcement, I’m a bit skeptical that the two companies really understand the types of innovation that […]

  5. […] have my own thoughts on this, but I already gave Saul enough trouble recently, so instead I’ll just quote […]

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