VENTURA COUNTY BUSINESS : VENTURA COUNTY DIGEST / BARBARA MURPHY : HomeBuilder.com Gets Chief Operating Officer

Homestore.com in Thousand Oaks has hired Bill Brown as chief operating officer of HomeBuilder.com, one of its family of Web sites.

Brown comes to HomeBuilder.com from the $6.5-billion Kellogg Co., where he served as global director of business information development. In that position, he developed and led a worldwide organization responsible for sales, marketing, research and development, and strategic planning information and processes.

“Bill’s extensive experience in information strategies and practices will serve this organization well,” said Fred White, president of HomeBuilder.com.

HomeBuilder is the official Internet site of the National Assn. of Home Builders, which offers more than 100,000 models, new homes and plans from more than 12,000 builders.

Homestore.com has a network of real estate Web sites, including Realtor.com, the official Internet site of the National Assn. of Realtors; SpringStreet.com, which provides consumers interested in renting an apartment with search and relocation services; and CommercialSource.com, an Internet site for commercial real estate brokers.