Frank Martell steps down as CoreLogic CEO

Frank Martell has stepped down as CoreLogic CEO, according to a company announcement on Wednesday. Martell will stay with the company as the non-executive Chairman of the Board, while Chief Operating and Growth Officer Patrick Dodd serves as interim president and CEO until the company finds a permanent replacement.

Frank Martell | Photo credit: CoreLogic

“By every measure, CoreLogic delivered the best year in the company’s history in 2021 [and] I am proud to have created significant stakeholder value by leading the transformation of CoreLogic over the past decade into a scaled leader providing must-have data, platforms and analytics that power the residential housing ecosystem,” Martell said in a statement, obtained by Inman. “With the company operating at record levels and with a deep and talented leadership bench in place, it is now time for me to step back from my operating role. CoreLogic is well-positioned to capture the many opportunities in front of the company as a privately held firm.”

Martell joined CoreLogic in 2011 as a chief financial officer following more than a decade in various executive roles at General Electric, AC Nielsen Corporation, Information Services Group, Advantage Sales & Marketing and Western Institutional Review Board.

The 60-year-old quickly moved up the ranks to chief operating officer, a position he served in until longtime CEO Anand Nallathambi became ill in February 2017. After a brief stint as interim president and CEO, Martell was officially appointed as the company’s leader after Nallathambi’s passing that March.

Under Martell’s leadership, CoreLogic adopted an aggressive acquisition strategy that included the purchases of a slew of property analytics and data services providers, technology and marketing firms, such as a la mode technologies, ClosingCorp, NextGear Solutions and HomeVisit. As a result, the company released a bevy of new tools and integrations, with an intensified focus on climate change and the impact it has on homeowners.

CoreLogic’s impressive growth sparked a bidding war for its ownership, after operating as a public company for more than a decade. Senator Investment Group LP and Cannae Holdings Inc made the first push to purchase CoreLogic in June 2020 with a bid of $65 per share. However, CoreLogic declined the contentious proposal, which left the door open for Warburg Pincus, CoStar Group, and Insight Partners and Stone Point Capital to battle over the company.

After an intense back and forth with CoStar that led to the company withdrawing its bid of $7 billion, Insight Partners and Stone Partners sealed the deal with an offer of $5.9 billion in June 2021. “Today marks a major milestone in CoreLogic’s history as we move to capture the many opportunities in front of us to accelerate our growth and transformation as a privately held firm,” Martell said of the deal.

Chuck Davis | Credit: Stone Point

Stone Point Capital CEO Chuck Davis and Insight Partners Deven Parekh thanked Martell for his leadership and expressed their confidence in Dodd, who joined the company in September 2020 after more than 30 years with Nielsen.

“We greatly value and appreciate Frank’s leadership and his many contributions to CoreLogic before and after our acquisition of the company,” Davis said. “We look forward to continuing to have access to his knowledge of the company and the residential property vertical as our Board chair and an equity investor.”

Added Parekh, “We are excited to work with Pat and the CoreLogic team as the company continues its focus on accelerating growth. Insight Partners has a strong track record of partnering with market-transforming companies like CoreLogic, and we look forward to active involvement in this next chapter in its evolution.”

As for Martell’s future, the former CEO said he’s excited to continue providing his expertise as a board member and pursue other opportunities within the industry, which already includes a newly minted board member position with Compass.

“Pat is a very talented leader, and I am confident he will take the company forward and create incredible value in the years ahead,” he said. “I look forward to continuing to be engaged as a Board member and investor while pursuing new transformational opportunities in the information services space.”

Email Marian McPherson