Zillow promotes two SVPs as Hofmann adds COO duties

Zillow Group has restructured its executive ranks, expanding chief financial officer Jeremy Hofmann’s role to include chief operating officer, while appointing Cassandra “Sandi” Knight as its first chief legal and policy officer and promoting two senior vice presidents, according to an announcement on Wednesday.

These executive leadership changes come one day after Zillow laid off over 500 employees, or roughly 7% of its staff, as part of what the company called “a restructuring effort.” Zillow has not disclosed any details regarding which departments were impacted, however posts from impacted former employees on LinkedIn show that many of those impacted were part of Zillow Rentals, product design and management and other marketing and sales teams across the company. 

Hofmann takes on dual COO and CFO role

Hofmann, a nine-year Zillow veteran and one of the key architects of the company’s current business strategy, will now oversee both financial strategy and day-to-day operations, the company said in its announcement.

Consolidating the COO and CFO functions under a single leader is intended to tighten the link between capital allocation, planning and operational execution as Zillow scales its integrated platform. The board cited Hofmann’s “deep command of Zillow’s strategy” and his understanding of operational dependencies across the business for the expanded remit. He has built and led the company’s finance leadership team during his tenure.

Jun Choo, who has served as chief operating officer since November 2024, is stepping down from that role to focus on his health and will serve in an advisory capacity through the end of 2026, according to the release. 

“Jeremy is an exceptional financial and operational leader and a critical strategic partner to the entire executive team and me,” Zillow Group CEO Jeremy Wacksman said in the release. “His deep understanding of our business, combined with the strength of the finance leadership team he has cultivated, gives us great confidence that this expanded role will accelerate our ability to execute and scale.”

Google litigator Knight joins as first chief legal and policy officer

Zillow also created a new C-suite position, naming Knight its first chief legal and policy officer. The role elevates legal, compliance and government relations to the top of the organization as real estate and technology companies face heightened regulatory and litigation risk.

Knight brings more than 20 years of experience in complex litigation and operational leadership across technology and financial services. She will report to Wacksman and oversee Zillow’s legal, compliance and government relations functions.

She joins from Google, where she served as vice president of litigation and discovery and led legal strategy on high-profile and novel technology cases. Before Google, she was vice president and chief litigation counsel at PayPal and spent 11 years at Morgan Stanley in senior litigation and compliance roles.

“Empowering movers with a seamless, integrated experience requires us to operate in ways that build and enhance consumer trust,” Wacksman said. “Sandi’s exceptional legal career, her deep compliance expertise, and her experience leading through transformational moments make her the right person for Zillow. We’re thrilled to welcome her to the team in this newly created role.”

Berroth, Wilson elevated to senior vice president roles

Zillow also promoted two internal leaders who will report directly to Hofmann.

Katie Berroth was promoted to senior vice president of strategy and operations. She will lead business strategy, cross-functional operations and partnerships. The role will be central to aligning product roadmaps, partner programs and back-end operations as Zillow pushes to deepen engagement across the consumer journey.

Eric Wilson was promoted to senior vice president and general manager of mortgages. He will oversee Zillow’s mortgage operations, including Zillow Home Loans.

The company described both Berroth and Wilson as seasoned Zillow executives who have helped shape its growth and operational foundation.

This article was written by Brooklee Han and generated with the assistance of HousingWire Automation, then reviewed by a HousingWire editor before publication.