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Vacasa appoints Cohen as new CFO

US: Vacation rental management company Vacasa has announced the appointment of Jamie Cohen as its new chief financial officer [CFO].

Cohen is the former CFO of ANGI Homeservices, a leading digital home services marketplace, and will join Vacasa at the beginning of March.

Vacasa CEO Matt Roberts said: “I am excited to welcome Jamie to the team and am confident that her experience is exactly what we need for our next stage of growth. Vacation rentals are a high growth element of the sharing economy and have thrived during the pandemic.

“We expect consumer preference will continue to lean heavily towards professionally managed vacation homes, which affords us a tremendous growth opportunity moving forward,” he added.

Recent reports suggest consumer preference for short-term rentals during the pandemic has been steadily climbing, while branded hotel stays have seen a slight decline during the same time period. It is also expected that short-term rentals will continue to outperform hotels as leisure travel is projected to recover faster than business travel.

As a member of ANGI Homeservices’ leadership team, Cohen participated in driving the company’s rapid growth during her almost decade-long tenure. She oversaw key initiatives including multiple acquisitions, debt financing and building the company’s finance and accounting functions.

Most notably, Cohen held an instrumental role in the reverse merger of HomeAdvisor with Angie’s List, and the simultaneous public offering of ANGI Homeservices.

Cohen said: “I am excited to join Vacasa’s leadership team and leverage my extensive marketplace experience to accelerate the strategic plan already in motion. The vacation rental industry is operationally heavy at its core, and technology can play a huge role in unlocking a better consumer experience—something Vacasa has excelled at over the years and will continue to invest in.

“There is no other company in a better position than Vacasa to continue to lead the vacation rental management industry,” she added.