Opendoor hires Kaz Nejatian as new CEO

Opendoor Technologies announced Wednesday that it has named Kaz Nejatian, the former chief operating officer of Shopify, as its new CEO. Nejatian will also join Opendoor‘s board of directors as he takes over for Carrie Wheeler, who stepped down last month.

The San Francisco-based iBuyer also announced two other personnel moves as co-founders Keith Rabois and Eric Wu are returning to the company to join the board. Rabois, who will serve as Opendoor’s chairman, is the managing director at Khosla Ventures. Wu left Opendoor at the end of 2023 and went on to found NavigateAI.

Opendoor’s press release also noted that Eric Feder will retain his role as lead independent director of the board.

“Rabois and Wu, who co-founded Opendoor in 2013, will inject the ‘founder DNA’ and energy at a pivotal moment for Opendoor. They are passionate about our community and we’re excited to welcome them back to the Board,” Feder said in a statement.

Nejatian, who has prior experience as an attorney, entrepreneur and product leader, also has experience using artificial intelligence to scale products, teams and companies. He’s been at Shopify since 2019, where he helped to build teams and products for the e-commerce platform.

“It’s a privilege to become Opendoor’s leader,” Nejatian said. “Few life events are as important as buying or selling a home. With AI, we have the tools to make that experience radically simpler, faster, and more certain. That’s the future we’re building.”

“Literally there was only one choice for the job: Kaz. I am thrilled that he will be serving as CEO of Opendoor,” Rabois added. “He is a decisive leader who has driven product innovation at scale, ruthlessly reduced G&A expenses to drive profitability and deeply understands the potential for AI to radically reshape a company’s entire operations.”

Coinciding with the appointments of Rabois and Wu to the board, Opendoor announced that Pueo Keffer and Glenn Solomon have left their positions.

“We are grateful to Pueo and Glenn for their many contributions to the company and their dedication to Opendoor and our shareholders,” Feder said.

Wheeler‘s departure was not a surprise as she reportedly approached the board in mid-2025 about a succession plan. When she stepped down in August, the company appointed Shrisha Radhakrishna as president and interim leader. Wheeler agreed to serve as an adviser to the board through the end of this year, according to 8-K filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Her exit came shortly after Opendoor’s stock went for a wild ride. It surged in July after being promoted by meme stock subreddits and other social media operatives.

On July 21, Opendoor shares were trading for $3.31, up 429% in a single week. But only two days later, the price had fallen to a low point of $2.05 — down nearly 50% in just a few hours of trading. But it’s taken off again since then and was priced at more than $8 during after-hours trading on Wednesday.