David Ross (left) and Richard Sarkis.
David Ross and Rich Sarkis
Chief technology officer at Atlus Group; president at Argus Software and Data
Altus Group is in a period of flux, like that uncomfortable moment just before a growth spurt sets in.
In early November, CEO Jim Hannon announced his sudden departure from the real estate data and analytics firm after leading it for nearly four years. Hannon’s exit, and the reappointment of previous Altus CEO Mike Gordon, came alongside a “strategic review process” by the firm’s board, which apparently included consideration to sell.
Yet, independent Altus will remain, with a renewed focus on updating and expanding its Argus Intelligence platform, which fully launched at the beginning of this year and replaced its aging Argus Enterprise software (though Enterprise is still fully available within the Intelligence package).
Gordon’s reappointment is also a full-circle moment for Rich Sarkis, founder of real estate analytics platform Reonomy, as Gordon was CEO when Altus acquired Sarkis’s baby in 2021.
“Jim’s done a terrific job over the last almost four years, transforming a lot of what we’ve been doing at Altus, both internal systems and [acquiring and integrating] many companies over the last few years, including Reonomy,” Sarkis said. “We’ve built out all of the scaffolding and the infrastructure and the foundation for the Argus intelligence platform and the rollout of the product, and as we completed that chapter in the journey, I think there was this mutual understanding that Mike would come in and lead us to the next phase of growth.”
Argus Intelligence is, naturally, fueling that growth, with the platform having achieved a double-digit revenue climb for the second consecutive quarter, per the firm’s latest earnings call. Altus’ near-term plans are aimed at further enhancing Argus Intelligence, via capabilities from other products that the firm has acquired, such as fund management software Taliance, as well as through integrating agentic AI.
Altus Chief Technology Officer David Ross insisted that the firm keep future launch days close to the chest, Sarkis said, yet the Reonomy founder added that product rollouts and formal adoption of agentic AI would happen “soon.”
“I’m a software entrepreneur, and so trying to bring that sort of mindset into the Argus platform has been really exciting to me,” Sarkis said. “Seeing that shift and the launches of Argus Intelligence — I’m having a good time doing it.”
