Eric Wittman, formerly chief operating officer at web interface design software developer Figma, has joined JLL Spark, US-based property manager JLL’s corporate venturing arm, as chief growth officer.
JLL established Spark in 2017, providing it with $100m in capital to invest in real estate and property management technology developers.
The newly formed role of chief growth officer will involve Wittman joining Spark’s already established growth team and implementing strategies to help portfolio companies expand using JLL’s resources.
Figma hired Wittman in January 2017, and he built the company’s senior management team and client base. He also helped it secure $25m in series B funding from venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Index Ventures and Greylock Partners in February 2018.
Wittman said: “We are witnessing incredible growth opportunities within proptech today. Now is the perfect time to transform commercial real estate leveraging new digital products.
“JLL Spark is unique in that we have an incredible team of both seasoned investors and operators. When you couple our team with the expansive JLL network, we can offer counsel, capital and customers unlike any other firm.
“We also bring a new strategic dimension to JLL’s client relationships that helps them evaluate and adopt proptech faster.”
Photo of Eric Wittman courtesy of LinkedIn.
