“It really has always been about the customer.” That principle has guided Jeremy Wacksman since the day he joined Zillow in 2009 and it continues to drive the company under his leadership as CEO. From launching the Zestimate to building out Zillow’s mobile-first tools, Wacksman helped transform how people shop for homes online. Now, his focus is on building a real estate “Super App,” where consumers can book a tour, apply for a loan, and chat with their agent—just as easily as ordering dinner or booking a ride. “We build for the consumer customer,” he says. “The rest will take care of itself.”
Originally from Ohio, Wacksman earned a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from Purdue University and an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. Prior to Zillow, he led marketing and product efforts at Microsoft, particularly in Xbox and mobile, and earlier at Trilogy Software. Since joining Zillow, he has served as CMO, president, and COO, playing a key role in everything from product development to acquisitions like ShowingTime and Follow Up Boss. Today, he oversees Zillow’s push to modernize the full real estate journey.
Wacksman has also proven unafraid to admit when a big bet doesn’t pan out. Zillow’s iBuying experiment, he says, taught the company that acting as a market-maker didn’t align with their mission. “That was a painful lesson,” he admits. But instead of retreating from change, he pivoted. By investing in smarter agent software, mortgage tools, and immersive listings, he’s doubling down on digitizing the traditional process without cutting out the humans who still make homebuying personal.