Opendoor Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:OPEN) has appointed Kaz Nejatian, chief operating officer of Shopify, as its new CEO in a leadership shake-up that sent the company’s shares soaring as much as 36%.
Nejatian succeeds Carrie Wheeler, who resigned amid investor pressure after the company’s recent financial performance.
A lawyer and entrepreneur, Nejatian has been COO of Shopify since 2019, overseeing product development and operations.
At Opendoor, he is expected to focus on positioning the company as an AI-driven real estate platform.
“It’s a privilege to become Opendoor’s leader,” Nejatian said in a statement. “With AI, we have the tools to make buying or selling a home simpler, faster, and more certain.”
The company also announced the return of co-founders Keith Rabois and Eric Wu to the board of directors.
Khosla Ventures and Wu also committed $40 million in a private investment to support Opendoor’s growth initiatives.
Opendoor’s shares, which had been under pressure earlier this year after falling below $1 and facing the risk of delisting, have become a focus of retail investors active on social media platforms.
The stock has risen sharply over the summer, at one point gaining more than 1,000%.