Redfin-owned RentPath has named ParkMobile CEO Jon Ziglar as its new chief executive officer, according to an announcement on Wednesday.
Ziglar will be responsible for leading the newly acquired company’s growth strategy, expand its product base, and oversee the integration of RentPath listings onto Redfin’s platform, which will be done by late 2022.
Glenn Kelman | Photo credit: Redfin
“Jon is a world-class CEO, with the technology and sales expertise to grow a marketplace, the drive to compete, and the vision to re-imagine the home rental experience,” Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman said in a statement. “Hiring a CEO of Jon’s caliber is a major commitment from Redfin to the home-rental market. He’s a deeply values-driven person who’ll do right by our customers, and he’s here to win.”
Prior to Redfin, Ziglar led Atlanta-based transportation platform ParkMobile for six years. During his tenure, Ziglar increased ParkMobile’s customer base by 800 percent and expanded the plaform’s offerings beyond on-street parking services to include event and airport reservations, electric vehicle charging and toll payments. The new CEO also held leadership positions at several other transportation and financial firms, including Ceridian, Elavon, and Raymond James.
RentPath leadership said they’re excited for Ziglar’s skills to be put to use at the company, especially as they navigate a period of post-acquisition adjustment and growth. “Ziglar’s experience running a marketplace that connects millions of consumers with enterprise customers is particularly relevant to RentPath, whose core business is connecting people looking for long-term home rentals with property owners and managers looking for prospective tenants,” the announcement read.
Ziglar said he’s equally as eager to get started as RentPath’s CEO and lead the charge for more innovation in the rental industry.
Jon Ziglar | Credit: LinkedIn
“I am extremely excited about the opportunity ahead at RentPath to deliver even more value to renters and property owners,” he said. “Using technology, we’re making the entire rental journey more efficient, from search to application to payments to day-to-day communication and support.”
“As the company that effectively created the category, RentPath has a tremendous and growing consumer audience, and significant digital assets and technology,” he added. “As we deepen our collaboration with Redfin, a pioneer in the real estate industry itself, we are positioned to not only accelerate growth in our core marketplace business but to transform the overall rental industry.”
The past eight months have been tumultuous for RentPath, which was the source of a battle between CoStar Group and the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC halted CoStar Group’s plans to acquire the company in November, saying it would “increase concentration in the already highly concentrated market for internet listing services advertising for large apartment complexes in 49 U.S. metro areas.”
After a short-lived lawsuit, the FTC reached a settlement with CoStar Group, which resulted in CoStar paying RentPath a $52 million break-fee. Two months later, Redfin swooped in with a $608 million deal, which was finalized in April.
“We’re over the moon that RentPath and Redfin are officially hitched,” Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman said in a written statement. “Already, we’ve discovered that RentPath’s modern technology for importing rental listings fits perfectly with ours, and that the two companies have a shared vision to make renting a home fast, easy and magical, for consumers and property-management companies alike.”
