One Year at Property Finder: Lessons, Wins, and a Journey Beyond Borders

A New Chapter in my Leadership Journey

Completing my first year as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Property Finder marks a significant milestone in my professional journey. Over the past 25 years, I’ve worked on transformative projects like Office 365, Amazon Prime Video, LinkedIn Learning, and Visible. These experiences taught me how to build platforms that scale globally and teams that deliver excellence.

I have always wanted to work outside the United States to broaden my leadership style, learn new approaches, and bring more diversity to my experience. Leaders need to continually seek ways to improve their portfolios of experience, and this opportunity at Property Finder allowed me to do just that. Stepping into a leadership role in the proptech industry has been an opportunity to apply these lessons in a new context while embracing the challenges and opportunities of working outside the US for the first time.

Adapting to a New Market and Culture

Transitioning from the US to the MENA region has been both rewarding and eye-opening. The dynamics of the market, the pace of change, and the diverse cultural influences have shaped my perspective as a leader. One of my first observations was how different teams approach collaboration, communication, and problem-solving. In the US, directness is often valued, while in the MENA region, building trust and rapport takes precedence. Adapting my leadership style to this environment has been a growth experience that has deepened my appreciation for cross-cultural collaboration.

Key Wins from My First Year

1. Building a Scalable Engineering Team

Over the past year, we focused on scaling our engineering capabilities to meet the demands of our ambitious growth plans. I introduced combined engineering, merging development and quality functions to enhance the engineering muscle. Upskilling teams by raising the talent bar has been a critical component, alongside introducing a new planning rhythm to ensure engineers have the right information before starting their builds.

To strengthen our platform’s foundation, I built three new teams:

• Core Platform: Focused on enhancing platform quality and ensuring compliance, working closely with regulators to embed trust and quality directly into platform features. This proactive approach ensures that trust and compliance are foundational to everything we build.

• Data Platform: Driving our AI-driven innovation initiatives, laying the groundwork for transformative capabilities that will shape the future of our technology. Lot more to come from this area. Shhhh…..

• Enterprise Productivity: Focusing on infrastructure security and engineering productivity, ensuring our platforms are robust and secure while equipping our teams with the tools they need to operate efficiently. This effort is paramount for building trust within our ecosystem and delivering on our commitment to operational excellence.

2. Delivering Business Impact

One of our key accomplishments has been improving the consumer apps platform, delivering a more seamless experience for users. On the client side, we introduced a new B2B platform to better serve agents and real estate professionals. Leveraging the power of AI, we made significant strides in:

• Improving listing availability

• Increasing the accuracy of information

• Enhancing verification processes for listings

• Deploying AI-driven anti-spam capabilities to further ensure quality and trust within our ecosystem.

3. Enhancing the Customer Experience

Building on our data-driven approach, we launched new tools that empower clients with actionable insights, such as enhanced listing performance dashboards. These features provide transparency and help clients make data-backed decisions, reinforcing our commitment to a user-centric approach.

4. Investing in Talent and Culture

Growing the engineering and design maturity within Property Finder has been another focus area. We’ve brought in expertise from big tech to elevate the talent bar, foster a culture of accountability, and create an environment where teams can thrive.

Lessons from a Year of Transformation

1. Autonomy Fuels Innovation

One of the biggest lessons this year has been seeing the power of giving teams more autonomy. By reducing noise and trusting our engineers to drive initiatives, we’ve delivered faster and more impactful outcomes than expected.

2. Cultural Adaptation Matters

Working outside the US has reinforced the importance of adapting leadership styles to fit cultural contexts. Building relationships and understanding the nuances of team dynamics in the MENA region have been critical to success.

3. The Value of Resilience

Transforming a platform while maintaining day-to-day operations is no small feat. Resilience—both at the organizational and individual levels—has been key to navigating challenges and delivering results.

4. The Confidence of “More and Better”

A pivotal lesson this year has been the importance of challenging teams to do both more and better simultaneously. While it’s essential to shield teams from unnecessary randomizations and distractions, it’s equally crucial not to lower expectations. Expecting less can inadvertently lead to a downward spiral, especially when a team is on an upskilling journey.

Teams gain confidence by achieving ambitious goals, even when facing roadmap pressures and resourcing constraints. However, this requires leaders to over-communicate their vision and be prepared for occasional misunderstandings. Upskilling is a tough process, and suboptimal plans can derail progress. Instead, leaders must set high standards while providing the support and clarity needed to navigate the challenges. By pushing for more and better, you inspire teams to rise to the occasion and strengthen their belief in their own abilities.

Looking Ahead

As I enter my second year at Property Finder, I’m energized by the opportunities ahead. We’re poised to expand further into high-growth markets, deepen our investment in AI-driven solutions, and continue building a customer-first platform that sets the benchmark for proptech in the MENA region.

Closing Thoughts

Reflecting on this year, I’m reminded of the importance of stepping outside comfort zones. Moving to a new region and taking on a new role has been an incredible learning experience. It has challenged me to grow as a leader and reaffirmed my belief in the power of innovation, collaboration, and resilience. I’m excited about what the future holds for Property Finder, and I’m proud to be part of a team that’s shaping the future of real estate in the MENA region and beyond.