Richard Barton

Rich Barton is an internet entrepreneur known for founding or co-founding three influential technology companies: "Expedia," "Zillow," and "Glassdoor." Each company is built on the principle that providing consumers with direct access to information can transform industries. Barton holds a degree in general engineering and industrial economics from Stanford University. He began his career at Microsoft as a product manager, working on MS-DOS and the Windows operating system, where his entrepreneurial interests developed.

While at Microsoft, Barton identified an opportunity to use the internet to empower travelers with information previously available only through travel agents. He proposed the concept of an online travel booking service to Microsoft leadership, leading to the creation of "Expedia." The platform launched on the web and later became a public company, with Barton serving as president and CEO. Expedia became a leading online travel platform and was acquired for $3.6 billion.

Following his tenure at Expedia, Barton co-founded "Zillow" with Lloyd Frink, applying a similar consumer-focused approach to the real estate industry. Zillow introduced the Zestimate, a tool that uses public data and algorithms to estimate property values, making information accessible to homebuyers and sellers. Zillow became the largest real estate marketplace in the United States. Barton held multiple leadership roles at Zillow, including CEO and Co-Executive Chairman. He also co-founded "Glassdoor," a platform providing job seekers with anonymous employee reviews and salary data, which was later sold for over $1 billion.

Barton has been recognized in the technology and business sectors, named among the top 10 innovators under 35 by MIT Technology Review and appointed as a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship. He has served as a venture partner at Benchmark Capital and sits on the boards of Netflix, Nextdoor, Artsy, and Avvo. Barton is also a member of the Stanford University Board of Trustees. As a keynote speaker, he addresses topics such as business leadership, innovation, entrepreneurship, and real estate, sharing insights from his experience in technology-driven industry disruption and consumer empowerment.