Linktree hires tech veterans to boost AI & personalisation features

Linktree, the company harnessing the power of the creator economy through its link-in-bio platform, has appointed three technology industry veterans to spearhead its next phase of growth. Jiaona JZ Zhang, formerly with Airbnb, has taken on the mantle of Chief Product Officer, whilst serial entrepreneurs Martin Gould and Johnny Hunter have been hired to lead a team focusing on AI, machine learning, and personalisation.

These strategic appointments aim to leverage and transform the creator economy, to optimise the platform for its 45 million-plus creators across the globe. The team will work towards augmenting creators' earnings and fostering their audiences on all platforms, improving the creator experience through AI application, and strengthening connections between Linktree's users and brands.

JZ joined the Linktree team as Chief Product Officer in late Q4 2023, bringing her profound experience from top tech companies including Airbnb, Dropbox, WeWork, and Webflow, where she most recently served as SVP of Product. Her work centres around crafting user-centric digital solutions and driving strategic product development. Alex Zaccaria, CEO and Co-Founder of Linktree, shared his excitement about the appointment, saying, "JZ wowed myself, the executive leadership team, and the board during our search for our next product leader. She's whip smart, has built elegant and powerful products at scale, and comes with a stellar reputation along with a track record to back it up."

In addition to her corporate experience, JZ has also taught a course on product management at Stanford, demonstrating her academic penchant within the tech world. Zaccaria added, "JZ's extensive experience in product strategy and development, as well as her passion for creating innovative and user-centric solutions, align perfectly with our mission at Linktree."

Joining JZ are Martin Gould, the new Senior Director for Personalisation, and Johnny Hunter, the Principal Data Scientist at Linktree. Both have substantial expertise in machine learning, discovery, and personalisation for consumer products. Their first startup together, Sonalytic, revolutionised audio-identification technology which was subsequently acquired by Spotify in 2017.

Gould and Hunter are set to explore how Linktree can better utilise AI to serve the platform's users. Initial focus areas will include social commerce and developing an advanced marketplace for brands and creators to collaborate in expanding their reach. They will be based in London but will split their time between Australia and California, where Linktree's US hub is located.

Having more than $6 billion spent annually through Linktree, creators have a formidable influence on the economy. Brewer further expounded, "I know JZ, Martin, and Johnny will each have a massive impact on our growth, product, Linkers, and how we realise the Linktree Vision: to empower anyone to curate and grow their digital universe. We've got a big year ahead solving problems for our Linkers and I can't wait for the world to see what we've got cooking."