# John Zimmer

> John Zimmer is the co-founder and former President of Lyft, the ride-hailing company he built alongside Logan Green from a carpooling experiment at Cornell into a public company worth $24 billion at its 2019 IPO. Known for his hospitality-school ethos and relentless focus on human connection over transaction, Zimmer spent 16 years transforming how Americans think about car ownership and urban mobility. After stepping down from Lyft's board in August 2025, he launched Yes&, a consumer company-builder focused on health, connection, and joy.

- **Role:** CEO at Yes&
- **Organizations:** Lyft, Yes&, Zimride
- **From:** Greenwich, Connecticut, USA
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science in Hotel Administration, Cornell University, School of Hotel Administration
- **Known for:** Co-founded Lyft, which grew to billions of rides and $24B valuation at 2019 IPO, Led Lyft as President for over a decade, making it the first major US ride-hailing company to go public, Built Zimride from zero to 125+ university campuses before pivoting to Lyft

## Career timeline

- **2002-2006** — Attended Cornell University School of Hotel Administration; graduated as class valedictorian
- **2006** — Joined Lehman Brothers as a real estate finance analyst in New York City
- **2007** — Connected with Logan Green via Facebook; co-founded Zimride, a college carpooling platform
- **2007** — Launched Zimride at Cornell University - 20% of student body signed up within six months
- **2008** — Resigned from Lehman Brothers three months before it declared bankruptcy to pursue Zimride full-time
- **2008-2012** — Grew Zimride to 125+ universities; relocated to Silicon Valley; shared apartment-office with Logan Green
- **2012** — Co-launched Lyft in San Francisco as a peer-to-peer rideshare app with the iconic pink fuzzy mustache
- **2013** — Sold Zimride to Enterprise Holdings to focus exclusively on Lyft
- **2014** — Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 and Inc. 35 Under 35
- **2015** — Named to Fortune 40 Under 40
- **2017** — Named to Fortune 40 Under 40 again; received Cornell Hospitality Innovator Award
- **2019** — Led Lyft through its IPO at $72/share, valuing the company at $24 billion - the first major US ride-hailing IPO
- **2023-03** — Announced departure as President; David Risher named incoming CEO
- **2023-06** — Stepped down as President; became Vice Chair of Lyft's Board of Directors
- **2025-08** — Stepped down from Lyft's Board of Directors alongside Logan Green; converted Class B shares to Class A
- **2025** — Launched Yes&, a consumer company-builder focused on health, connection, and joy

## Achievements

- Co-founded Lyft, which grew to billions of rides and $24B valuation at 2019 IPO
- Led Lyft as President for over a decade, making it the first major US ride-hailing company to go public
- Built Zimride from zero to 125+ university campuses before pivoting to Lyft
- Named Forbes 30 Under 30 (2014), Inc. 35 Under 35 (2014), Fortune 40 Under 40 (2015, 2017)
- Cornell University class valedictorian (2006)
- Received Cornell Hospitality Innovator Award (2017)
- Grew Lyft driver community to 30% women vs. industry's typical 1%
- Took no salary for the first three years at Lyft
- Yes& named a 2025 Inc. 5000 honoree in its first year
- Successfully exited Lehman Brothers three months before its historic 2008 bankruptcy

## Latest updates

- **2025-08** — Stepped down from Lyft's Board of Directors alongside Logan Green, completing a two-year transition plan; converted Class B supervoting shares to Class A
- **2025-05** — Yes& named a 2025 Inc. 5000 honoree in its debut year
- **2025-01** — Active as CEO of Yes&, a consumer company-builder co-founded with Ben Wolan, Jesse McMillin, and Mason Rothschild

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnzimmer11
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/johnzimmer

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/john-zimmer
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-04