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In February 2025, Zillow promoted two internal leaders, Seattle grocery-technology company Swiftly hired a chief financial officer and chief operating officer, and ESS Tech CEO Eric Dresselhuys resigned from both his role and the company’s board. The three changes were separate personnel moves across Pacific Northwest real estate, retail technology, and energy storage—not a shared business deal.
What changed at each company
| Company | February 2025 change | Type of move |
|---|---|---|
| Zillow Group | Michael Sherman became senior vice president of Zillow Rentals; Cynthia Taylor became senior vice president of agent software and advertising. | Two internal promotions |
| Swiftly | Keith Kirk joined as chief financial officer; Anthony Viglietti joined as chief operating officer. | Two external hires, as reported by GeekWire |
| ESS Tech | Eric Dresselhuys resigned as CEO and board member; Kelly Goodman became interim CEO. | CEO departure and interim succession |
The personnel details for Zillow and Swiftly were reported by GeekWire’s February 21, 2025 roundup. ESS’s departure and interim appointment were later documented in the company’s definitive proxy filing.
Zillow promoted leaders in rentals and agent-facing products
Michael Sherman: Zillow Rentals
Sherman was promoted to senior vice president of Zillow Rentals. He joined Zillow in 2012 and had led its rentals business since 2017, according to GeekWire. The promotion elevated an existing business leader rather than bringing in an outside executive.
Cynthia Taylor: agent software and advertising
Taylor became senior vice president of agent software and advertising. She had been at Zillow for more than a decade and previously led product and business operations in industry- and agent-facing areas, GeekWire reported.
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The moves came as Zillow was emphasizing both rentals and tools for real estate professionals. The company announced it would become the exclusive provider of multifamily rental listings on Redfin and Redfin-owned rental sites, including Rent.com and ApartmentGuide.com. GeekWire reported the agreement’s value as $100 million. Zillow said more than three times as many households moved into a new rental as bought a home in 2024, framing rentals as a significant opportunity.
That business context makes Sherman’s promotion especially relevant, but the available reporting does not establish that either promotion was made because of the Redfin agreement. The personnel details are reported by GeekWire; Zillow’s February 11, 2025 SEC filing index does not itself establish the promotions.
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Swiftly added finance and operating experience
GeekWire reported that Seattle-based grocery-retail technology startup Swiftly hired Keith Kirk as CFO and Anthony Viglietti as COO. The roles should not be reversed: Kirk took the finance post, and Viglietti the operations post.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsKeith Kirk: chief financial officer
Kirk’s prior experience included Instacart, Postmates, OpenTable, and Sitecore, according to GeekWire. Those backgrounds span consumer technology and digital platforms, although the available reporting does not specify why Swiftly selected him or what priorities he was assigned.
Anthony Viglietti: chief operating officer
Viglietti had been president of theSkimm and held roles at Univision Communications and Viacom, GeekWire reported. His experience was rooted in media and operations rather than grocery retail alone.
GeekWire also reported that Swiftly raised $100 million in 2022 and reached a valuation above $1 billion at the time. That is historical funding context, not evidence of Swiftly’s current valuation. Adding finance and operations executives can indicate a need for specialized capacity as a company scales, but that is an interpretation; no stated company rationale for these hires is established in the available reporting.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.ESS’s CEO departure coincided with a strategic shift
ESS Tech said Dresselhuys resigned as CEO and as a board member effective February 13, 2025. He had been CEO since March 2021 and joined the board in May 2021. The company’s proxy filing says Kelly Goodman, previously its vice president of legal, became interim CEO and principal executive officer on February 13. Her appointment was explicitly interim, not a permanent succession.
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An interim-CEO office also included CFO Tony Rabb and executive vice president of engineering Ben Heng, according to coverage of ESS’s February 14 Form 8-K.
Why the transition drew attention
ESS described a focus on daily-cycling projects in the 12-to-24-hour long-duration energy-storage market, with initial installations targeted for 2027. It also said its board had engaged financial advisors to evaluate possible commercial or financial transactions. These developments place the leadership change amid strategic and financial repositioning; they do not establish that Dresselhuys resigned because of a specific transaction, performance event, or board dispute, nor do they confirm that a transaction occurred.
Subsequent ESS leadership changes
Later disclosures in the proxy show further changes during 2025, separate from the February succession: Rabb was terminated as CFO effective August 1, Kate Suhadolnik became interim CFO, and Jigish Trivedi became COO effective August 18. These later changes mean the February announcement should not be read as a statement of ESS’s current leadership.
How to read the three moves
- Zillow: internal promotions in two important operating areas.
- Swiftly: outside hires for finance and operations at a venture-backed retail-technology company.
- ESS: a CEO and board departure followed by an interim appointment during a stated strategic repositioning.
The common thread is executive movement in the Pacific Northwest technology and climate-tech ecosystem. The available reporting supports the Zillow and Swiftly appointments, while ESS’s succession details and subsequent 2025 leadership changes are documented in corporate filings; none of the three companies was identified as connected to the others.
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