The real-estate fintech Crowdhouse has appointed a new head of operations. He was recruited from UBS, where he worked in various executive roles.
Ralf Plaenkers has joined Crowdhouse as its new chief operations officer (COO), the Zurich-based fintech said Tuesday. He will be the fourth member of the executive, joining the three founders Robert Plantak, Ardian Gjeloshi and Benoit Henry on the board.
Plaenkers will assume responsibility for the operations business from Henry, a member of the leadership group since 2017. Henry will now focus on marketing and finance.
Prior to the switch, Plaenkers worked for 10 years in senior positions for UBS wealth management and UBS life insurance. He helped automate the processes between customer, bank and life insurers and served as UBS Life CEO. The computer scientist graduate also worked for several years as a consultant at McKinsey.
Personnel Offensive Launched
Plaenker’s appointment as Crowdhouse COO is also tied to the personnel recruitment offensive. «We are currently in a rapid growth phase and aim to employ more than 100 staff by the end of the year. Particularly in such a decisive growth period a sustainable and dynamic development in the operations area is vital,» said Crowdhouse CEO Plantak.
Crowdhouse, in which Luzerner Kantonalbank holds a strategic stake, was founded in 2015 and now employs 70 staff. Crowdhouse said it has achieved a transaction turnover worth more than 400 million Swiss francs to date.
