Leadership in the era of AI with Zillow’s Co-Founder and Technical Leadership Advisor
AI is reshaping how we lead, build teams, and drive innovation. How can engineering leaders stay ahead? How do we navigate this transformation while fostering inclusivity and human-centered leadership?
Last month, I attended a fireside chat with Zillow’s Co-Founder and Technical Leadership Advisor, Kristin Acker, VP of Engineering at mParticle by Rokt, Melissa Benua, and SheTO’s CEO, Nidhi Gupta. The evening kicked off with a networking hour of enthusiastic senior tech leaders setting the stage for the main event. Not only did Kristin and Nidhi share valuable insight when it comes to leading innovation forward at this pivotal time, but also shared how they got to where they are today.
Kristen Acker, Zillow’s Co-Founder and Technical Leadership Advisor
Kristin’s journey was inspiring. As senior vice president of product at Zillow Group, Kristin leads product strategy, design and development for Zillow. Kristin joined Zillow in 2004, as a member of the founding team. Before joining Zillow, Kristin led program management and user interface design teams at several companies including Microsoft, PictureIQ, Expedia, and Pure Networks. Kristin serves on the board of trustees for Plymouth Housing, a Seattle-based non-profit who focuses on providing permanent, supportive homes to those facing homelessness. Kristin attended Stanford where she graduated with a bachelor of arts in economics and political science and competed as a varsity rower.
“Early on, we did things that were much riskier,” Acker says, recalling a time in 2010 when her team changed key elements of architecture on Zillow’s home listing details pages. “We just flipped the switch.”
Now, she says, technologies and site changes are “turned up slowly,” tested thoroughly before launching, to prevent glitches and service issues or interruptions. But the spirit of scrappy innovation remains — at all levels of the company.
“One of the things I learned from (fellow Zillow co-founders Rich Barton and Lloyd Frink) was to think big,” Acker says. “I’d worked at places where thinking was incremental. At big companies, I had a small part. At small companies, there wasn’t big thinking.”
At Zillow, Acker says, the question is never “Is this too hard?” but, instead, “How can we do it?”
Nidhi Gupta, CEO & Co-Founder SheTO.org, ex-Chief Technology & Product Officer
Nidhi is the CEO and Co-Founder of SheTO, a private community for women and non-binary engineers and engineering leaders. Less than 9% of engineering executive roles are held by women. SheTO is working on changing that.
Prior to founding SheTO, Nidhi was an accomplished engineering and product executive who has built, scaled, and transformed companies. She has extensive expertise in strategy, R&D, business development, and operations. She has led various Marketplaces, and SaaS businesses. As an Engineering and Product leader she is passionate about building and growing thriving operational organizations that deliver world-class products at scale.
Prior to founding SheTO, Nidhi was the Chief Technology & Product Officer at Hired, Upwork and Ning
AI Integration and Rapid Innovation
The Panel Discussion
In the panel they shared examples of how teams can build and iterate rapidly while thoughtfully leveraging AI capabilities. The conversation explored how successful technology adoption involves cultural evolution and systematic approaches to help teams learn and integrate new tools meaningfully.
Key insights from the panel discussion included:
Strategic Risk Management: Kristin’s journey from “flip the switch” to “turn up slowly” illustrates how mature leaders calibrate risk tolerance while maintaining innovation momentum.
Inclusive AI Development: Building diverse teams becomes even more critical when developing AI systems that will impact broad audiences and shape future product directions.
Learning Organizations: The most successful companies create cultures where adopting new technologies becomes a continuous capability.
Key Takeaways for Tech Leaders
Several actionable principles emerged from this rich conversation:
Evolve Your Risk Profile Strategically. As your organization scales, maintain the innovation spirit while building operational discipline.
Think Beyond Incremental Improvements. Leaders who thrive in the AI era will envision transformational possibilities while executing through disciplined iteration.
Foster Solution-Oriented Culture. Shift team conversations from “Can we do this?” to “How can we make this happen?”
Looking Forward
The evening concluded with stunning views of Seattle from Zillow’s offices — a fitting backdrop for conversations about the expansive possibilities ahead in tech leadership. The combination of practical wisdom from seasoned leaders and passionate advocacy for inclusive innovation created exactly the kind of dialogue our industry needs.
Thanks to SheTO and Zillow for hosting this event, and to all the speakers, panelists, and attendees who contributed to the discussion about leadership in our rapidly evolving field.
What challenges are you navigating as you lead teams through AI adoption? I’d love to hear about your experiences and insights in the comments below.