One of the pioneers of the global property portal industry, Gilles Blanchard, teams up with Bayut.com as an investor and chairman of the board.  

 

Blanchard has been actively working to bring the world’s real estate markets online for upwards of two decades. He co-founded SeLoger.com, the largest real estate portal in France and a pioneering effort that started out on the French MiniTel – a Videotex online service accessible through telephone lines – in 1992 before moving to the World Wide Web in 1999.  

 

A highly successful entrepreneurial mind, Blanchard led SeLoger.com to its initial public offering (IPO) in 2006 and made headlines in 2010 when SeLoger.com was acquired by Axel Springer AG in a buyout for $960 million. 

 

He is regarded as an authority in the property portal world with extensive experience of working in a variety of real estate markets across the globe. He continues to invest in and oversee interesting technology ventures related to real estate, and also serves as the executive chairman for Pakistan’s largest and most successful property portal Zameen.com.

 

“We are excited to have Gilles come on board as chairman. His tremendous depth and knowledge of the real estate markets and decades of experience make him the perfect person to guide us as we look to expand in this region,” said Bayut.com CEO Haider Khan. 

 

“I have always enjoyed visiting the UAE and am happy to become a part of Bayut.com. We have a very talented set of individuals and I am going to focus on working with the leadership to capitalize on the growth of the MENA region,” commented Gilles on joining Bayut.com. — SG