- PropertyGuru founding CEO Steve Melhuish departs the board to focus fully on climate tech.
- After 16 years with the Proptech firm he co-founded, Melhuish resigned his final director role.
- He will now concentrate exclusively on sustainability investing and startups through personal fund Planet Rise.
Sustainable tech transition
After 16 years since co-founding PropertyGuru and leading it as CEO until 2016, Steve Melhuish resigned from his final role as board director this month.
He announced intentions to focus fully on climate tech investing and startup building instead through the personal impact fund Planet Rise.
Shortly after relocating to the region, Melhuish launched the Singapore-based real estate platform in 2007.
Longtime executive Hari V. Krishnan, formerly of LinkedIn, succeeded him as CEO, leading to PropertyGuru’s NYSE listing via the SPAC deal in 2022.
Meaningful departure
“The PropertyGuru director role is my only non-climate related commitment, so resigning from the board was a big but right decision,” shared Melhuish, who retains a small stake and observer seat.
His departure follows recent momentum for the Proptech leader, which hit net income last quarter after years of losses.
Melhuish meanwhile eyes more hands-on pursuits, including through venture outfit Wavemaker Impact.
Now, Melhuish solely focuses on environmental sustainability ventures, leaving his foundational legacy at PropertyGuru after architecting much of its initial rise.