Twenty years ago, Reddit, the platform now known for its vast and often niche online forums, nearly launched as a food delivery app. Co-founders and college roommates Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian initially pitched a startup called “My Mobile Menu” before pivoting to what became a news aggregation and social discussion site. Since its 2005 launch, Reddit has seen several transformations. It was acquired by Condé Nast a year later, underwent leadership changes in 2015 with Huffman returning as CEO, and went public in 2024. Today, the platform boasts over 100 million daily users and a $26 billion market cap.
Best known for its user-driven subreddits, Reddit has also influenced financial markets through retail investor communities and recently began monetizing its data through A.I. tools and licensing deals. Running such a dynamic business requires leadership across everything from ad sales to data infrastructure.
Here’s a look at some of the top leaders overseeing the ever-evolving platform.
Steve Huffman, CEO
Huffman began programming at the age of eight, and it was computers—alongside video games and a shared sense of humor—that bonded him with Ohanian when the two became roommates at the University of Virginia. While launching Reddit in 2005, Huffman was responsible for coding the site and helping fill it with content before it gained enough users to grow independently.
A year later, Reddit was acquired by Condé Nast for $10 million, with Huffman departing the company in 2009. He went on to launch Hipmunk, a travel-focused startup, but returned to Reddit to take over as its CEO in 2015 and stabilize the company. Huffman, who has led Reddit ever since, earned $2.6 million in compensation last year.
Jen Wong, chief operating officer
Jen Wong, Reddit’s chief operating officer, has overseen the company’s business strategy since joining seven years ago. A key figure in Reddit’s 2024 IPO, she previously held leadership roles at Time, PopSugar and AOL.
Wong is responsible for driving advertising revenue, which reached $358.6 million in its most recent fiscal quarter. Advertising makes up more than 90 percent of Reddit’s total revenue. She has also led the company’s push into A.I., securing licensing deals with Google and OpenAI and launching A.I.-powered ad tools.
Chris Slowe, chief technology officer
Chris Slowe, Reddit’s first employee, joined the company in 2005 after meeting Huffman and Ohanian through Y Combinator. At the time, he was finishing a Ph.D. in experimental physics at Harvard while handling early operations at Reddit.
In 2010, Slowe left Reddit to join Huffman at Hipmunk. He made his way back to Reddit in 2017 and became the company’s chief technology officer, where he oversees issues like site integrity and testing.
Ben Lee, chief legal officer
Ben Lee joined Reddit as chief legal officer in 2019 and now leads the company’s legal and policy teams, reporting directly to Huffman. Recently, he spearheaded a lawsuit against A.I. startup Anthropic, accusing it of scraping Reddit content without permission.
Before Reddit, Lee held senior legal roles at Plaid, Airbnb, Twitter and Google. Earlier in his career, Lee worked at AT&T and NEC Laboratories America. He holds a bachelor’s degree in physics and economics from Yale and a J.D. from Columbia Law School.
Andrew Vollero, chief financial officer
Drew Vollero joined Reddit in 2021 as its first chief financial officer and led the company’s 2024 IPO. He brought extensive experience from roles at Snap, where he was also the inaugural CFO. He has also held senior positions at Allied Universal, Mattel, PepsiCo and Taco Bell.
Michelle Reynolds, chief accounting officer
Tanya Reynolds, who reports to Vollero, joined Reddit in 2021 after serving as Snap’s director of controllership accounting. Earlier in her career, she held roles at Procter & Gamble and Ernst & Young. As Reddit’s first chief accounting officer, Reynolds oversees the company’s accounting team and is in charge of refining operational and accounting processes throughout the organization.
Adam Collins, chief communications officer
As Reddit’s newest executive, Adam Collins joined the company earlier this month as its first chief communications officer, a role created to support the platform’s growing user base.
Collins brings a diverse background in corporate, political and civic communications. He previously served as chief communications and corporate affairs officer at Molson Coors and held roles as communications director for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago Police Department. He also served as spokesperson for the state of Wisconsin and as press secretary to former Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle.