"He hires for horsepower and humility, then sets teams on outcomes that matter. He prefers hypothesis-led debate that moves decisions forward and builds alignment by co-authoring plans with his leaders, documenting them, and disseminating them across the company. "I try to focus not on whether my idea wins but on chasing the right idea," Blotner says. He also evaluates managers on whether they develop other managers, considering leadership depth a core advantage."
"One early assignment set the template. Blotner was charged with scaling Wayfair's proprietary brands and onboarding new suppliers to broaden the selection-a challenge that required blending merchandising, taxonomy, and systems thinking. Missteps followed when supplier capacity lagged or products were misclassified in ways that confused shoppers. The fix became a playbook he still uses: set a multiyear vision, break it into three- and six-month checkpoints, and meet regularly with the full team to spot drag and pivot fast."
Jon Blotner built an industry-agnostic career at Bain, a Berkshire Hathaway-acquired e-commerce startup, and Wayfair. Blotner joined Wayfair in 2016 and rotated roles approximately every two years, expanding responsibility across brand and performance marketing, global logistics, and data science. Blotner hires for horsepower and humility, sets teams on meaningful outcomes, and favors hypothesis-led debate to advance decisions. Blotner co-authors, documents, and disseminates plans to build alignment and evaluates managers on their ability to develop other managers. Blotner uses a playbook for scaling supplier and brand initiatives with multiyear visions and short checkpoints.
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