Zillow Group, Inc. announced that long-time executive and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Jeremy Wacksman has been promoted to CEO and appointed to the company’s board of directors.
Wacksman succeeds co-founder Rich Barton, who remains on the board of directors and became co-executive chair alongside Zillow co-founder and current Executive Chair Lloyd Frink.
Wacksman joined Zillow from Microsoft in 2009 and has earned multiple promotions throughout his tenure, including as a product leader, chief marketing officer and, for the past three years, as COO, with responsibility for growing Zillow Group businesses and also overseeing engineering, product, design, marketing, sales and industry relations.
“With the strength of Zillow’s brand, our highly engaged audience and a steadily growing business portfolio, we are in a great position to capture meaningful transaction share for years to come,” Wacksman said in a release. “The work we’re doing to bring the integrated transaction to life through exceptional tech solutions for consumers and agents will transform residential real estate. I love this company and its mission, and I am honored to lead our extraordinary team into the next phase of Zillow’s growth.”
As a Zillow product leader, Wacksman helped pioneer mobile real estate shopping and, today, Zillow Group apps have three times more daily active users than any other company in the category.
“Zillow’s business is firing on all cylinders and performing well through a challenging real estate macro. We’ve built and integrated products, completed strategic acquisitions, enhanced our agent partner network, and leaned in hard on our mortgages and rentals businesses,” Barton said. “This is due in no small part to the leadership of Jeremy Wacksman, with the past three years being a time of particularly impressive innovation for the company. Lloyd and I could not be more confident in Jeremy as CEO, in the caliber of the broader team and in Zillow’s bright future.”
Both Barton and Frink have led the board of directors and held board positions, including the chairmanship, since they founded Zillow in 2004. They will continue to be active in the company to support Wacksman and the leadership team.