Greg Schwartz ’94
Know Thyself
Greg Schwartz ’94 had a big job in New York City when the Zillow Group, the online real estate company, approached him about a position that would offer a 70 percent pay cut and a twice monthly commute to the margin of the map — Seattle. It wasn’t an enticing offer, but Schwartz agreed to an interview. A delayed flight delivered him at 2 a.m. his time to a three-hour session with company co-founder Rich Barton. The sleepless Schwartz emerged absolutely destroyed yet absolutely hooked. A Hamilton government major and an alumni trustee, Schwartz is now Zillow’s president for media and marketplace.
1994
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’94
Kirshenbaum & Bond and DDB Needham Ad Agencies, media planner
“Those two ad agencies exposed me to literally hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people who were building their careers in tech and to tons of really interesting ideas.”
1999
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’99
DoubleClick, director of business development
“I found my first business mentor in Wenda Millard, an iconic media exec, who I worked with through three companies and from whom I learned to build high-performance teams, the art of selling, and the importance of precision.”
2001
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’01
Yahoo Finance and Autos, director of advertising sales
“What I learned there — and what’s driven the next insight of my career — is I really learned about marketplaces.”
2005
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’05
CNN Money, VP sales
“My career has been super-interesting and fulfilling, but my most joyful moments of the last few years were when I skied the iconic Blackcomb Glacier with my wife and daughters (Ella, 13, and Sloan, 7), where you can find us most weekends. Magic.”
2007
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’07
Zillow Group., (2007-15, chief revenue officer; 2015-18, chief business officer; 2018-present, president, media and marketplace
“I wanted to be in something that was pure-play digital. I wanted to be part of something that was changing the world a little bit.”
2012
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’12
Woodland Park Zoo. board member
“I joined my first nonprofit board, the Woodland Park Zoo, where I learned the importance of achieving consensus when leading a public institution, which is surprisingly demanding, though possible.”
2018
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’18
Joined Hamilton board as an alumni trustee
