Pinterest's Leadership Transformation
Pinterest has made significant executive changes, hiring Lee Brown as Chief Business Officer and Claudine Cheever as Chief Marketing Officer. This strategic move comes as the platform aggressively repositions itself as a global AI-driven shopping destination, with a primary focus on Gen-Z users.
Left to right: Lee Brown and Claudine Cheever; Photo: Lauren Cassot, Chona Kasinger
Why This Matters
CEO Bill Ready emphasizes that this C-suite shakeup aligns with Pinterest's evolution beyond just a visual discovery platform. "We think there's a much bigger story for us to tell, from a marketing perspective, that goes along with that shopping and commercialization growth," Ready told Axios.
Both executives will report directly to Ready, signaling a unified strategic direction.
Lee Brown's Expanded Role
As the newly appointed Chief Business Officer, Brown will oversee all customer-facing operations, including:
- Expanding Pinterest's advertising business globally
- Growing small and medium-sized business partnerships
- Scaling Pinterest's content business as it becomes a more significant revenue source
Brown brings experience from DoorDash, Spotify, and BuzzFeed, where he turned consumer demand into advertising opportunities through deep client relationships and content partnerships.
"Whether it's Spotify, DoorDash or BuzzFeed — at all of these companies, I've turned consumer demand to strong advertising opportunities by deepening client relationships, customer operations and content partnerships," Brown said.
Claudine Cheever's Marketing Vision
Cheever, a longtime Amazon marketing executive, joins as Chief Marketing Officer with a clear mission: to help marketers understand that Pinterest can "really automate and personalize that relevance, and it will never feel creepy or weird. It will feel rich and useful."
Her goal is to position Pinterest as a "visual search platform that has a really positive role in people's lives, and it's a place they want to spend their time and they want to shop."
Pinterest's Growth Trajectory
Since Ready joined Pinterest three years ago, the platform has experienced remarkable growth:
- Nine consecutive quarters of record user figures as of Q3 2025
- Annual revenue showing consistent year-over-year gains
- 2024 full-year revenue jumped 19% compared to 2023
- Shopping has become the platform's primary use case, surpassing browsing
The Positive Platform Strategy
Pinterest has invested heavily in communicating the benefits of mental health and positive interactions on its platform. Ready hopes Cheever will help drive home the message that there's "a good business in positivity."
"By tuning AI for positivity and rejecting engagement via enragement," Pinterest can be a brand "that can matter a lot more," he said.
What's Next for Pinterest
- A new consumer campaign is already in development
- Pinterest reports its Q4 and full-year 2025 earnings on February 12
- The platform continues to focus on becoming a trusted shopping destination that prioritizes user well-being
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to say Julie Towns leads Pinterest's ads product marketing (not its advertising business).
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