Nearly eight months after Glenn Kelman said goodbye, Redfin has a new chief executive officer.
Alessio Sanfilippo, the former VP of Insights for Meta subsidiary Reality Labs, will start the role immediately, taking the reins from Rocket CEO Varun Krishna, who served as interim CEO. Sanfilippo has more than two decades of product, data, analytics and technology experience, which includes executive roles at WhatsApp, Intuit, SAP, GoSeek, Hotwire and United Airlines.
At Reality Labs, Sanfilippo led data science, data engineering and user research teams, and helped develop the growth strategy for Meta’s AI-enabled wearable glasses.
Varun Krishna
“Millions of people begin thinking about homeownership on Redfin, often months before they ever talk to a lender,” Krishna said in a press release. “I worked with Alessio at Intuit and saw firsthand how he combines deep analytical thinking with a real instinct for the consumer. He has spent his career using data and technology to make complex products work better for enormous audiences.”
Sanfilippo’s appointment marks another milestone for Redfin, which Rocket acquired in a June 2025 all-stock deal valued at $1.75 billion. With Redfin, Rocket Companies became a full-service national real estate company, offering a platform for consumers to view homes, pair with an agent, qualify for a mortgage and have their home loan serviced in one place.
Rocket has been tying the threads between Redfin and its other companies, debuting a program in May that offers buyers and sellers five-figure savings through lender-paid credits from Rocket Mortgage and Redfin commission discounts. Rocket said the program boosted Redfin’s mortgage leads pipeline, with the brokerage doubling mortgage leads year over year and reaching record highs for mortgage attach rates.
“This was driven by rapid product development to integrate the Rocket and Redfin experience, proprietary models to lift conversion, and compelling offers such as our expanded Preferred Pricing offer,” Rocket said in its second-quarter earnings report on Aug. 6.
Redfin also entered the pre-marketing battle, signing a three-year agreement with Compass International Holdings in February to display coming-soon listings from @properties, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, Century 21, Christie’s International Real Estate, Coldwell Banker, Corcoran, ERA Real Estate and Sotheby’s International Realty, as well as coming-soon and private exclusives from Compass. Redfin rolled out Redfin Early Access several months later, allowing homebuyers to easily find listings exclusive to Redfin and Compass International Holdings’ family of brands.
The firm also wrapped up loose ends on its syndication deal with Zillow, with both parties agreeing to terms laid out by the Federal Trade Commission and attorneys general from five states who alleged the $100 million deal violated antitrust laws. The FTC said it will allow the deal to stand, on the condition that Redfin rebuilds its rental advertising business. Both parties still maintain they didn’t violate any law, a previous Inman article explained.
Alessio Sanfilippo | Credit: LinkedIn
Sanfilippo said he believes in Redfin’s mission to make homebuying and homeselling easier, and looks forward to working with the Rocket team to lead the firm into its next chapter.
“I’ve used Redfin for years, including through some of the biggest decisions my family has made,” the new CEO said in a press release. “I still remember the pride I felt buying my first home. Redfin has always helped make an intimidating process easier to understand. I’m excited to work with this team and combine what Redfin has built with Rocket’s capabilities to make finding, buying and owning a home simpler for millions of people.”
