April Underwood
About April Underwood
April Underwood (age 44) is an independent Class II director of Zillow Group (ZG) serving since February 2017. She co-founded and is Managing Director at Adverb Ventures (2023–present), and is a founding partner at the #ANGELS investing collective (2015–present). Her prior operating roles include Chief Product Officer at Slack Technologies, Vice President of Product at Slack, Director of Product at Twitter, and product/engineering roles at Google, Travelocity, and Intel. She holds a BBA in Management Information Systems and Business Honors from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from UC Berkeley (Haas) .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slack Technologies, Inc. | Chief Product Officer | Mar 2018 – Feb 2019 | Led product strategy and execution |
| Slack Technologies, Inc. | VP, Product | Dec 2015 – Mar 2018 | Product leadership across portfolio |
| Slack Technologies, Inc. | Head of Platform | Jul 2015 – Dec 2015 | Built platform ecosystem |
| Twitter, Inc. | Director of Product | Apr 2010 – Feb 2015 | Directed consumer product development |
| Nearby HQ | Founder & CEO | May 2020 – Dec 2021 | E-commerce tech and consulting |
| Obvious Ventures | Venture Partner | Mar 2020 – Dec 2021 | Early-stage investing |
| Wise Owl | Founder & CEO | Nov 2019 – Dec 2021 | Growth advisory |
| Google; Travelocity; Intel | Various product/engineering roles | Not disclosed | Technology/product execution |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eventbrite, Inc. | Director | Jun 2022 – present | Compensation Committee member (2025) ; previously Audit Committee (2024) |
| #ANGELS | Founding Partner | 2015 – present | Angel investing collective |
| Adverb Ventures | Managing Director & Co-founder | Feb 2023 – present | Early-stage VC leadership |
Board Governance
- Committee assignments: Compensation Committee member; not a chair .
- Independence: Board determined Ms. Underwood is independent under SEC/Nasdaq rules .
- Attendance: In 2024, each incumbent director attended 100% of Board/committee meetings held during their service, except one director; Underwood’s attendance was 100% .
- Years of service: Director since February 2017 (≈8+ years as of 2025) .
- Executive sessions and governance: Board maintains three standing committees comprised entirely of independent directors and conducts ongoing evaluations; independent directors meet periodically without management .
Fixed Compensation
| Component (Non-Employee Director) | 2024 Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Annual cash retainer | $0 | ZG does not pay cash to directors for Board service |
| Meeting fees | $0 | No per-meeting cash fees; reasonable expenses reimbursed |
| Committee chair/member cash fees | $0 | Equity-only compensation framework |
Performance Compensation
Director pay is delivered via equity under the NED Equity Program (effective Feb 13, 2024). Annual awards on March 1 equal $315,000 in RSUs based on a 20-day average price, with optional exchange to nonqualified stock options at a 3:1 conversion; some directors elected mixed RSU/option grants .
| Award Type (2024) | Grant-Date Fair Value (USD) | Shares/Options | Vesting/Structure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) | $80,682 | Unvested RSUs at 12/31/24: 354 | Annual award structure; RSU count based on 20-day average; time-based vesting |
| Stock Options | $439,669 | Unexercised options at 12/31/24: 77,412 | Nonqualified options, time-based vesting; exercise price equal to close on grant date |
Performance metrics: No director pay is tied to operating/financial performance metrics; awards are time-based to align with long-term shareholder value .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
- Current public company board: Eventbrite, Inc. (Compensation Committee) .
- Interlocks/potential relationships: Underwood co-founded Adverb Ventures; Barton and Hoag (ZG directors) are limited partners in various Adverb funds via family offices. The Board considered this in independence determinations and deemed her independent; relationship was not required to be disclosed as a related-party transaction .
Expertise & Qualifications
- Technology and product development, engineering innovation, consumer engagement, corporate strategy; marketing and entrepreneurship .
- Education: BBA (MIS/Business Honors), University of Texas–Austin; MBA, UC Berkeley (Haas) .
Equity Ownership
| Security | Beneficial Ownership | % of Class | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class A (voting) | Not disclosed | — | N/A in her row |
| Class B (voting) | Not disclosed | — | N/A in her row |
| Class C (non-voting) | 77,412 (options exercisable within 60 days)* | <1%* | Class C is non-voting; ownership includes short-window exercisable options |
| Unvested RSUs (Class C) | 354 | — | As of 12/31/2024 |
Hedging/pledging: ZG policy prohibits pledging/margin accounts and discourages hedging; pre-approval required for any exception. No pledging or hedging by Underwood disclosed .
Governance Assessment
- Strengths: Independent director; 100% attendance in 2024; active Compensation Committee member; equity-only director pay improves alignment (no cash retainers or fees); option-heavy personal election indicates confidence in long-term value creation .
- Compensation oversight quality: Committee uses independent consultant (Compensia), maintains clawback policy aligned with Dodd-Frank, and assesses risk of incentives; robust charter and practices .
- Shareholder signals: Say-on-pay in 2024 received ~78% “For,” suggesting acceptable alignment with investor expectations, though not overwhelming support .
RED FLAGS
- Related-party exposure: Adverb Ventures LP relationships with Barton and Hoag (via family offices), while reviewed and deemed independent, represent potential perception risk of intra-network influence. Monitor for transactions involving Adverb portfolio companies and ZG (none disclosed) .
- Equity-heavy director pay: While aligned, option-heavy elections can increase pay-for-luck sensitivity vs RSUs; continue to monitor vesting terms and any repricing events (ZG repriced employee options in Aug 2022; directors were excluded) .
Net: April Underwood presents strong product/technology expertise and independent oversight, with full attendance and equity alignment. The Adverb LP relationships are disclosed and reviewed; no related-party transactions involving Underwood were required to be disclosed. Continued monitoring of potential interlocks and director equity elections is prudent .