REA Group Director Steps Down

Alasdair MacLeod is stepping down from his position as director of REA Group.

MacLeod’s departure follows the mid-January announcement that he would be leaving his position as managing director of News Ltd’s Nationwide News at the end of the month. REA Group is 60.7 percent owned by News Ltd, and MacLeod is the son-in-law of Rupert Murdoch, head of News Ltd’s parent company News Corporation.

REA Group runs leading Australian property portal realestate.com.au along with Italian portal casa.it and portals in France, Germany, Luxembourg, and Hong Kong. MacLeod joined the board in February 2003.

In a company statement, MacLeod commented:

“It is with great delight that I have watched the company grow into a highly successful international group with a market capitalisation of over $1 billion. I have thoroughly enjoyed the journey and wish the REA Board, management and global team every success for the future.”

REA Group chairman Richard Freudenstein added:

“Alasdair has been a committed and valuable member of the Board and the company has benefited from his extensive media industry experience and management expertise. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Alasdair for his significant contribution to REA’s success over the past seven years and wish him all the best in his future pursuits.”

MacLeod’s resignation follows two other REA Group departures during 2009: general manager for international business, Shaun Di Gregorio, and Australian CEO Jamie Pride.

REA Group reported strong traffic and revenue figures for 2009 after selling its stake in United Arab Emirates portal propertyfinder.ae and selling UK portal propertyfinder.com to zoopla.co.uk.

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