#230 Bowen Pan: Leading the creation of Facebook Marketplace, working with Mark Zuckerberg, and unpacking product leadership
The High Flyers Podcast with Vidit Agarwal
Early signals and design nuances for Marketplace
Bowen details tests like joining groups, understanding privacy/social dynamics, and keeping Marketplace separate from News Feed.
Episode #230 of The High Flyers Podcast features Bowen Pan, who led the creation of Facebook Marketplace and held product leadership roles at Trade Me, Meta, Stripe, and Common Room. He now advises startups and serves on boards including NZME and the Auckland University Business School.
Born in China and raised in New Zealand, Bowen shares how learnt English at age nine, how he built Facebook Marketplace from a hackathon, worked directly with Mark Zuckerberg, and led global teams across Silicon Valley. He reflects on lessons in execution, leadership, and returning home to help build the next generation of world-class companies from Australia and New Zealand.
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