Zoom’s Organizational Structure
Create this exact chart in Organimi! Scroll below to see how.
Introduction
Zoom is an American communications technology company that provides videotelephony and online chat services through a cloud-based peer-to-peer software platform. Through an open platform that allows third-party developers to build custom applications on it, Zoom supports video communications, messaging, voice calls, and conference rooms for video meetings.
Although Zoom was founded in 2011 and achieved so-called “unicorn” status in 2017 when it achieved a US$1 billion valuation, it wasn’t until 2020 when the company blew into the mainstream during the coronavirus pandemic.
As the world shut down and millions were forced into government-mandated quarantines, the use of Zoom saw a massive global increase led by remote work, distance education, and online social relations. The company also offered its services for free to K-12 schools in many countries.
By February 2020, Zoom had gained 2.2 million users in just two months and on a single day the following month, the Zoom app was downloaded 2.13 million times. By April 2020, Zoom had more than 300 million daily meeting participants.
Zoom’s Management Team
There are two tiers to Zoom’s leadership: the company’s executive leadership team, known internally as the Management Team, and the Board of Directors.
The Management Team is responsible for providing strategic and operational leadership within the organization and is composed of several key executive-level managerial positions, such as C-level and presidential roles.
The Management Team is led by Zoom’s Founder & CEO Eric Yuan. He is supported and directly reported to by others on this team who are responsible for overseeing defined areas of the business, such as Online Business, Product, People, Revenue, and Marketing.
Zoom’s Board of Directors is the governing body of the company. Members of the board are elected by shareholders and are usually selected based on their expertise in a particular area or their industry connections.
As with many boards, the Zoom board typically holds an advisory role, but some do have wide-reaching powers, duties, and responsibilities as stipulated by corporate law and government regulations, particularly in heavily regulated industries such as finance and pharma.
Zoom’s board of directors supervises the organization’s activities and is responsible for setting its strategy and overseeing its implementation by the management team, with the goal of creating and delivering sustained shareholder value.
Zoom’s Organizational Structure
You might have noticed that despite Zoom’s large Management Team, the roles within it are virtually all C-level; there’s an absence of VPs and SVPs that you might expect to see in a company of Zoom’s size. This is because Zoom operates with what is known as a flat organizational structure.
A flat structure is an org structure with only a few layers of management. They’re the opposite of organizational hierarchies where there are several layers of management. In a flat structure, managers have a wider span of control with more subordinates, and there is usually a shorter chain of command. Flat structures are commonly used by smaller businesses or those adopting a more modern approach to management, such as tech companies like Zoom.
Even today, despite its massive growth during the pandemic, its IPO, and a workforce of almost 3,000, its structure is still remarkably flat. This is by design. Zoom’s CEO, Eric Yuan, has said that having multiple layers of management only serves to slow things down, and “in business, speed is everything.”
Want to learn more about organizational structures and the role that they play within modern organizations? Here are some helpful blog resources that you can get started with:
Create this chart in Organimi!
You can download the CSV file of Zoom’s org structure, import it into Organimi and start editing this chart right away! Here’s how:
- From your dashboard, select Data Import.
- Click the CSV tile.
- Click +Upload Your File.
- Select an Excel file from your device.
- In the Organization field, click the down arrow to select an organization.
- Click Create a New Chart
- Click Next and select: Organization Chart
- Select the auto-build tool to automatically build your chart.
- Voila!
Download CSV file:
Zoom (20.78 KB)
Build better org charts with
Organimi.
A powerful, cloud-based platform that helps you create, connect, and collaborate with your colleagues wherever they work.
