Pat Dodd wasn’t going to let a titanic proxy battle stop him from the job he wanted.
For a few years, the veteran executive at the Nielsen Corp. consumer marketing research giant had his eyes on CoreLogic Inc., the Irvine-based provider of residential real estate, and mortgage data and analytics.
Thus, when offered the position of CoreLogic’s chief operating and growth officer, Dodd took the job in August 2020, just two months after a proxy battle for one of Orange County’s largest—at the time—public companies began. Â
“I’d been studying CoreLogic well prior to the proxy” fight, Dodd recalled. “I had made up my mind that this was the place to be. I was pleased to jump in because I knew this company well. I had done my homework.”
That move paid off. Last month, CoreLogic named Dodd interim president and chief executive, taking over for Frank Martell, who was appointed non-executive chairman of the board.
Martell, CEO of CoreLogic since 2017 and before that its chief financial officer, successfully fought a hostile takeover that ended when it was acquired last June by Stone Point Capital and Insight Partners in a $6 billion deal.
During the proxy battle, Core-Logic’s shares almost doubled in value. It went private after the sale to Stone Point and Insight.
“By every measure, CoreLogic delivered the best year in the company’s history in 2021,” Martell said in a statement. Â
“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,” he said.
Nielsen Connection
Dodd was born in the Toronto area where he grew up and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in economics from the University of Western Ontario.
“At my roots, I have a strong background in data,” Dodd said. “I’m fascinated with analytics, what it can do with all the technology out there.
“I do believe information, if used properly, can make markets move.”
Over the past three decades, Dodd has held senior executive leadership positions at Nielsen, the company that became famous for inventing market share and measuring consumer goods and behavior. Competitors of the firm include J.D. Power, which previously had its base in Costa Mesa.
His most recent position was global president and chief commercial officer at what is now known as NielsenIQ, its global consumer business.
Previously, Dodd led Nielsen’s International Division, spanning over 100 markets around the world; he held numerous senior leadership positions, including serving as president of Nielsen Europe, China and Canada.
“My career took me all over the globe,” Dodd recalled. “My family has been working, living and playing on three continents.”
Big Neighborhood
When Dodd studied CoreLogic, he saw similarities with Nielsen.
“At the heart of it is how do you take data analytics and combine it with professional services to help companies make better business decisions?”
CoreLogic has more than 4.5 billion records spanning 50 years, providing detailed coverage of property, mortgages and other encumbrances, consumer credit, tenancy, location, hazard risk and related performance information.
The company provides data to 2,000 lenders and 500 insurance companies; it has more than 1 million end-users. Its software powers more than 50% of real estate listings.
Dodd saw CoreLogic as “having the most comprehensive and precise data on the largest asset class in the world.”
“It has really granular information on every single parcel of land,” he said.
“CoreLogic is playing in a really big neighborhood.”
Proxy Battle
Martell’s strategy as CEO was to unload low-margin labor intensive businesses in favor of revenue-generating new technology, and new users.
The shedding of certain units meant CoreLogic’s revenue declined in 2017 and 2018 and was flat in 2019, at around $1.4 billion.
The low revenue growth was a source of contention during the proxy battle.
An unsolicited $5.2 billion takeover bid for CoreLogic, which began in June 2020, involved an activist group led by Bill Foley. Foley in the 1990s was well known in Orange County as the leader of Fidelity National Financial Inc., a rival to title insurance giant First American Financial Corp., which had spun out CoreLogic in 2010.
Martell in 2020 told the Business Journal that the company was poised to start growing; it climbed 14% in 2020 to $1.6 billion.
The proxy battle, which included a bid from fellow commercial real estate data giant CoStar Group, ended last June when the CoreLogic acquisition by the private equity firms was completed. Foley’s team, which had accumulated a sizeable stake in the business prior to launching its proxy bid, reaped a large profit from its efforts.
“It was an interesting time,” Dodd noted. “Our new owners are terrific investors.”
Irvine HQ
While CoreLogic called Dodd an “interim” president and CEO, he said he’ll be in charge for the “foreseeable future.”
The company has 5,000 employees globally, including 500 in the Irvine Spectrum, which will remain its headquarters, he said.
While Dodd declined to provide 2021 revenue figure, he said “it is safe to say we are growing.”
He gave a hint that growth will be aided by acquisitions, pointing out CoreLogic’s made four acquisitions in the past six months. On Jan. 18, CoreLogic announced the purchase of Prospects Software, a provider of tools to help real estate professionals develop leads.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we do repeat” four more acquisitions in the coming months, he said.
“We have owners that are looking to help us accelerate our market share.”Â
