Pinterest taps Snap's Julie Henderson to lead communications

Pinterest taps Snap's Julie Henderson to lead communications

Pinterest has hired Snap Inc. and Fox Corp. communications veteran Julie Henderson as its new vice president and chief communications officer, executives told Axios.

Why it matters: She is one of several new senior leaders CEO Bill Ready has hired to help usher in a new phase of growth in the AI era.

Earlier this year, Ready named former DoorDash and Spotify executive Lee Brown as chief business officer and former Amazon executive Claudine Cheever as chief marketing officer.

  • In the wake of those changes, Pinterest's longtime revenue and content leads, Bill Watkins and Malik Ducard, departed.

    • Zoom in: Henderson will oversee all corporate, product, policy, financial, consumer, international and internal communications.

  • She will report to Cheever, while working closely with Ready and the executive team.
  • She replaces Caroline Nolan, who left the company in March after leading communications at Pinterest for over two years.

    • The big picture: Pinterest faces pressure to grow its ads business as companies like Meta and Google continue to show strong growth.

  • Investors are intrigued by the opportunity for Pinterest to build its search business and expand its momentum around younger audiences.
  • "What drew me to Pinterest was not only the strength of the business and the product, but also the people and the ambition for what comes next," Henderson said in a statement.

    • Between the lines: Communicating its progress will be critical as the company continues to champion healthy engagement initiatives, like phone-free schools and social media bans for users under 16.

  • In a statement, Cheever said Henderson's experience "navigating complex policy landscapes, major business transformations, and high-stakes narratives makes her exactly the right leader for this moment."

    • Zoom out: Henderson has spent most of her career working for founder-led companies that have had to balance long-term vision with Wall Street pressure.

  • Before her role as chief communications officer at Snap, Henderson was chief communications officer at Fox Corp., and before that, chief communications officer at News Corp.
  • She oversaw Snap's evolution from a messaging app to an augmented-reality platform while managing regulatory pressure around teen safety. She oversaw communications during the sale of Fox Corp.'s entertainment assets to Disney.

    • What's next: Henderson begins her new role July 13. Following her departure at Snap, Russ Caditz-Peck has been promoted to vice president of communications, reporting to CEO Evan Spiegel.

    Editor's note: This story was corrected to reflect Henderson's start date will be July 13 (not July 18).