Boston, MA HqO, a tenant experience (TeX) platform for commercial real estate, has hired two new executives: Mark Rosenthal as VP of marketing, sales & success, and Daniel Koh as partner. Both executives bring a unique skill-set with roots in technology, real estate, sales, government, and business operations, as well as a deep understanding of the functions and strategies that will scale the company and its TeX offering.
Prior to HqO, Rosenthal was the head of Google’s programmatic advertising sales team for North America, helping Google’s largest advertisers leverage machine learning and advertising automation. At HqO, Rosenthal will help the leading commercial real estate owners and operators as they navigate the amenitization of real estate and TeX software to drive a premium user experience at their properties.
Rosenthal was at Google for eight years, holding various other strategic roles, including head of industry for the consumer health and wellness vertical. Before Google, Rosenthal was VP of sales at Ando Media, a startup that was eventually acquired by Triton Digital, where he scaled revenue from $12 million to $30 million in 18 months.
“The first wave of mobile technology was disruptive but it connected people to screens. The opportunity at HqO is exciting because it’s the next wave of mobile tech: connecting people to the real world,” said Rosenthal. “When I considered the HqO founding team’s track record of success, plus the opportunity to help build a company that’s reshaping the real estate industry – it was a no brainer. Data is the new currency in business today, and we can help commercial real estate accelerate through data driven decisioning.” He added: “Google taught me how to operate at scale, but I loved moving quickly and making a big impact at Triton Digital, a true startup environment. HqO is the perfect place to blend these career experiences.”
Koh is joining HqO after seeking the nomination for U.S. Congress in Massachusetts’ 3rd congressional district, finishing within 0.1% of becoming the Democratic nominee. Prior to his run, Koh served as chief of staff to mayor Marty Walsh during his first term, where he managed 18,000 city hall employees and a $3 billion budget.
As partner at HqO, Koh will serve in multiple roles to scale the company – from operationalizing internal business processes to serving as an ambassador for TeX technology innovation that will drive the development of smart buildings and cities. Koh’s background also includes management consulting at Booz Allen Hamilton, serving as chief of staff to Arianna Huffington at The Huffington Post, and acting as an advisor to Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino.
“I had a front-row seat to how Boston’s startup and tech community transformed people’s lives for the better,” said Koh. “I believe HqO is in a position to connect the dots on how to improve the workplace experience in the short term, but also provide immense business value in the long term. I’m excited to join the team and spread the vision of how software tied to the places we inhabit can improve the lives of people.”
TeX software improves the daily experience for tenants by simultaneously tapping into highly valuable insights that landlords did not have access to prior: tenant satisfaction data and overall usage of space and amenities. HqO has emerged as a leader in the space by creating an industry-standard approach to how landlords exceed occupant expectations through software. With first-in-class mobile technology that emphasizes commerce, community, content and control, HqO helps tenants easily access the most critical aspects and delightful features of a property: convenience, entertainment, mobility, security, sustainability and wellness.
“2019 will be a big year for the tenant experience space as every single landlord that is tenant focused is considering software to help them make smarter decisions about the UX of their property,” said Chase Garbarino, CEO and co-founder of HqO. “It’s the perfect time for Mark and Dan to join our team as we take this tech category to the next level for commercial real estate. It’s a huge opportunity and their individual backgrounds will bring a lot of new perspective to our vision and how we accomplish our aggressive goals.”
A number of leading proptech funds back HqO, including JLL Spark, Navitas Capital, and Pritzker Group Venture Capital, as well as innovative landlords such as Jamestown Properties and DivcoWest. After launching in January 2018, HqO is used by thousands of tenants in millions of square feet at the top office buildings owned by Jamestown, DivcoWest, National Development, Bulfinch Companies, and more.
