Zoopla unveils new CEO and strengthens leadership team
Zoopla, one of the UK’s leading property websites, is pleased to announce the appointment of Paul Whitehead as Chief Executive Officer, alongside a number of other changes to strengthen its leadership team, including the appointment of Sam Fletcher as Chief Finance Officer.
Paul rejoins Zoopla having previously served as its Chief Strategy Officer. Over the last three months, Paul has been working with Zoopla in an advisory capacity, embedding himself in the business to develop the company’s strategy and operating plan. This focuses Zoopla on providing UK home movers with the tools and confidence they need to ‘win at moving’ whilst connecting estate agents and home builders to highly qualified movers.
Under Paul’s leadership, Zoopla is already yielding exciting results. In the past month, three major customers have signed new contracts with Zoopla, taking Zoopla’s total estate agency branch wins in Q1 2025 to 450. One of these new customer wins includes Leaders Romans Group, which has chosen to return after a year with OnTheMarket. The decision to return is a clear testament to Zoopla’s unmatched ability to deliver high-quality leads. It solidifies Zoopla as the go-to portal for agents, giving them unrivaled access to its powerful audience of serious home movers.
The performance of the business is also going from strength to strength. The number of ‘for sale’ leads Zoopla is delivering to agents is up seven per cent year on year, while a viewing or valuation request is sent to an estate agent from Zoopla every 1.5 seconds.
Paul brings a wealth of digital and marketplace experience to Zoopla and has a well-established reputation for delivering strategic growth, operational excellence and strong leadership. He was previously at Cazoo where he held roles as CEO and COO. Prior to this, and as well as his time at Zoopla (ZPG) until 2018, he was the Commercial Director of uSwitch, before it was sold to ZPG.
Bolstering the leadership team
Zoopla is also delighted to announce the appointment of Sam Fletcher as Chief Finance Officer. Sam has worked in the Houseful family of brands for over four years, but she will now focus solely on Zoopla and work closely with Paul to execute the strategy.
Rich Hayes, Chief Operating Officer will continue to lead the day-to-day operations of the business; meanwhile, Alex Rose has been appointed as Commercial Director and will lead a dedicated Zoopla commercial team.
Commenting on his appointment, Paul Whitehead, CEO at Zoopla said: “I am delighted to return to Zoopla, a UK digital business with an incredible brand and consumer experience built over the last 17 years that attracts millions of consumers each month. My focus is on building upon the clear competitive advantage that Zoopla has in delivering high-quality buyers and vendors to our customers. Our customer wins this year speak volumes about the results Zoopla consistently delivers, as well as exceptional value and access to a powerful audience of serious home movers.
“We have a long history of innovation in the property industry, which we’ll continue to build on as we further develop the leading platform for people looking to move home.
“I am also pleased to welcome Sam Fletcher to Zoopla. She is already very familiar with our business and I look forward to us working closely together. I am privileged to be leading an exceptional and dynamic team and I am hugely excited for what we will achieve together.”
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