ZipRealty Strengthens Powered by Zip Unit by Naming Xavier Y. Zang as President

EMERYVILLE, Calif., June 6, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- ZipRealty, Inc. (http://www.ziprealty.com) (NASDAQ: ZIPR), the leading online residential real estate brokerage and technology provider, has named Xavier Zang to the newly created position of President of Powered by Zip (PbZ). The PbZ program provides leading real estate brokerages with a comprehensive technology solution to attract, incubate and close transactions on behalf of home buyers and sellers.

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Zang joins PbZ from Microsoft Corp. where he served in various positions over the past five years, most recently as Senior Director, Marketing Solutions.

"Xavier's years of experience and clear track record of success growing technology marketing services businesses similar to our Powered by Zip unit make him a perfect fit for this critical new role at ZipRealty," said Lanny Baker, ZipRealty's CEO and President. "We are delighted to strengthen our leadership team with the addition of an outstanding executive whose entire career has focused on building technology services and SaaS solution companies. Our goal is to provide the most effective technology and unparalleled service to our brokerage clients nationwide, and we have confidence in Xavier's ability to lead that charge," said Mr. Baker.

ZipRealty delivers PbZ software as a service to brokers, agents, home buyers and sellers. PbZ streamlines and simplifies housing transactions, more effectively matches buyers and seller and helps brokers and agents better manage their business. PbZ includes ZipRealty's industry-leading CRM and marketing solutions with web and mobile applications, making it the most powerful suite of real estate marketing tools in the United States.

"Powered by Zip has grown rapidly from its inception," said Mr. Baker. "The tremendous success that many of our brokerage clients and Powered by Zip agents have achieved thus far is strongly encouraging, and we are only just getting started.  The industry's needs are growing quickly, and ZipRealty has always been a product innovator and leader in real estate technology, relevant information and effective online marketing."

The PbZ network has doubled in size over the past year with more than 500 agents now using the system. In April, PbZ added Coldwell Banker Gundaker, the leading residential brokerage in the St. Louis area based on transaction volume, to its rapidly growing client list. To date, the PbZ network includes 16 leading local brokerages in cities that represent 16% of the U.S. population, adding significantly to ZipRealty's service reach, while leveraging existing technology to generate a new revenue stream for the company.

As President of PbZ, Mr. Zang is responsible for all aspects of the PbZ business. In this role, he will draw on more than 20 years of experience in the software and professional services sectors.

"I'm thrilled and humbled by the opportunity to join such a talented team and drive the next stage of the company's evolution," says Mr. Zang. "I'm equally excited to work with our brokerage clients by delivering to them the most innovative, end-to-end technology solution in the business."

Prior to holding the post of Senior Director, Marketing Solutions at Microsoft, Mr. Zang served as Executive Vice President at Rapt Inc., a media monetization software company. His prior professional experience includes R.B. Webber & Co., Viant Corp., McKinsey & Company, and Arthur Andersen (now Accenture). 

A frequent guest speaker at business schools and conferences, Mr. Zang earned an M.B.A. from the Walter A. Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley and a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame.

www.ziprealty.com

About ZipRealty, Inc.
ZipRealty is a leading national real estate brokerage and provider of proprietary technology and comprehensive online marketing tools for the residential real estate brokerage industry. For home buyers and sellers who increasingly want control, choice and a seamless, customized service, ZipRealty offers Internet-enabled, state-of-the-art technology and complete access to accurate, timely information via their website and mobile applications, which real estate professionals can combine with their own local knowledge and personal expertise to offer an exceptional start-to-finish client experience. For real estate professionals who seek more productive ways to conduct business, ZipRealty provides technology and online marketing tools to enhance their online sales channel, including lead generation, conversion and service of their clients. ZipRealty's technology and online marketing products serve its full-service, owned-and-operated residential real estate brokerage business in 19 markets nationwide, as well as its Powered by Zip network of leading third-party local brokerages in 16 markets.

Media Contact: Stacey Corso
510.735.2667
[email protected]

SOURCE ZipRealty, Inc.