IRVINE, CA-Auction.com has hired Rick Sharga as EVP to serve as the company's chief spokesman on topics such as the US housing market, mortgage market, commercial real estate and international real estate. Sharga, who will be based in the firm's local headquarters, has more than 30 years of experience in real estate, mortgage and technology marketing.

Sharga was most recently EVP of Carrington Mortgage Holdings, a privately held company that owns and operates multiple businesses covering virtually every aspect of residential real estate transactions. Prior to joining that firm, he spent eight years at RealtyTrac, where as SVP he was responsible for marketing, business development and data operations.

“The Internet is fundamentally changing the process of buying and selling real estate, and Auction.com is facilitating that change as the industry's leading online marketplace,” said Sharga in a prepared statement. “Auction.com presents a unique opportunity for me as the perfect intersection of my career experience and a company that is harnessing the power of technology, efficiency and transparency to define a future that will better serve buyers and sellers.”

One of the country's most frequently quoted sources on real estate, mortgage and foreclosure trends, Sharga has appeared on the CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News, CNN, ABC World News, CNBC, Fox and NPR. He has briefed government organizations such as the Federal Reserve and Senate Banking Committee and corporations including JPMorgan Chase, Citibank and Deutsche Bank on foreclosure trends, and has done foreclosure training for leading real estate organizations including RE/Max, Prudential and Keller Williams.

According to Jake Seid, co-president of Auction.com, Sharga's “knowledge of and ability to speak authoritatively about the trends that are driving our business will help to deepen understanding of the ways in which Auction.com can better serve the needs of commercial and residential buyers and sellers through our innovative online marketplace.”

Sharga is the second addition to the firm that GlobeSt.com has reported on this week. Michael Callahan was hired as EVP, chief legal officer and secretary to oversee the company's legal, regulatory, intellectual-property, government-relations, compliance, ethics and corporate-governance matters.