Jackie Jantos is the Chief Executive Officer of Hinge, the dating app designed to be deleted. She previously served as Hinge’s President and Chief Marketing Officer – managing the day-to-day aspects of the business while also shaping the company's global brand, product strategy, and expansion into new markets.
Since joining Hinge in 2021, Jackie has guided major initiatives across culture, creative, and innovation, including the evolution of the company’s marketing programs and the development of product features informed by human insights and community expertise. She also introduced One More Hour, Hinge’s social impact initiative created to support in-person connection among young adults.
Before Hinge, Jackie was the Chief Marketing Officer at Dashlane, a leading data privacy company. She also spent more than five years as Spotify’s VP of Global Brand and Creative, where she led a 100-person marketing team responsible for defining the company’s brand and developing award-winning creative and content programs, including Wrapped. During her tenure, Spotify made its debut on Interbrand’s Best Global Brands report and successfully listed on the NYSE.
Jackie’s experience spans over two decades of building global brands and scaling creative organizations at companies such as The Coca-Cola Company and Ogilvy. Growing up in Japan, she brings a deep curiosity and a global perspective to her leadership. Throughout her career, she has focused on the intersection of creativity, culture, and technology, and she has developed teams that create meaningful impact for millions of people around the world.
What consistently draws me to a brand, whether it's Coke, Spotify, or Hinge, is the relationship between culture, human behavior, and technology. I’m deeply curious about how people connect, what they need, and how the world is evolving through the lens of younger generations who are real catalysts for social change. I’m inspired by the challenge of building brands that genuinely feel useful and meaningful for those audiences. Across every role, the throughline has been designing with, not for, the communities we serve, and creating products that produce long-term, positive outcomes rather than short-term, superficial engagement.
Another consistent thread in my career is how social impact shapes the way brands show up in the world. At Coca-Cola, I saw firsthand how global brands can create connections across cultures when they invest in programs that bring people together. At Spotify, I helped build teams and initiatives that amplified underrepresented voices and reshaped how the company engaged with communities around the world. And at Hinge, that commitment has grown into One More Hour, our social impact program designed to address the loneliness epidemic by supporting Gen Z–led social groups and accessible third spaces. Whether it’s fostering belonging, elevating stories that rarely get told, or investing in people doing meaningful work on the ground, my goal has always been to help brands show up with empathy, integrity, and care.
One of the biggest shifts we’re seeing is how much Gen Z craves emotional intimacy, yet how often they feel hesitant or scared to initiate it. They want depth and honesty - more than any generation before them - but there is a real hesitation around initiating meaningful conversations or being vulnerable.
What gives me hope is how Gen Z is redefining what connection can look like. They are experimenting with new ways of expressing themselves and expanding the definition of partnership as they navigate their dating journeys. I see a generation trying to build connections with more care, more self-awareness and more authenticity than ever.
I think the real shift ahead is twofold: how technology supports people in communicating more authentically, and how users themselves evolve their expectations around that support. We are in a period where people are becoming much more intentional about how they show up and what they expect from the apps that serve them.
But as technology rapidly evolves, daters’ relationships to it are evolving too. We’re watching people push back on artificial intimacy and crave interactions that feel grounded, emotionally honest, and human. I believe the next five years will be defined by that balance. In many ways, it’s less about innovation for innovation's sake and more about giving people the confidence and clarity to build relationships that matter.
If I have a “secret,” it’s surrounding myself with people whose lived experiences are different from mine, and truly listening. I grew up across cultures, and that taught me early that my perspective is limited unless I intentionally widen the room. At Hinge, that shows up in the diverse creators, daters, partners, and team members shaping our work from start to finish.
My grandmother Bea. She was the first in her family to graduate from high school. She was a survivor, and a hard worker, and was guided by a sense of ethics and responsibility for her girls. She was a product of the Great Depression, and a very tiny, quiet, selfless force. And then she ended up marrying the true love of her life in her 70s – someone she’d known since her 30s. I’m easily overwhelmed by the people who came before me, the people I get to be surrounded by, and their journeys.
Books. Fiction! My greatest escape is reading. My husband and I are in bed by 8 p.m. with a book in our hands almost every night. I know that sounds wild, but it’s what keeps me grounded and rested and with some sense of clarity in a world that is alarming and dysregulating. The access to stories from a wide range of writers keeps my imagination and curiosity alive. The
other thing I’d say is hugs. Did you know we need 12 a day to be in an emotional space that allows for growth? 12 proper hugs a day. I start my day circling my house hugging everyone. My cats, too.
I’m excited about how people are starting to show up more honestly online - with less pressure to perform and more room to be themselves. At the same time, people are craving connection that happens off their screens. Gen Z, in particular, is choosing spaces where they can show up as they are and build community through shared experiences, like hobbies.
As technology evolves, the real distinction will be how thoughtfully it’s used. Some brands will build tools that genuinely support people - helping them communicate more clearly and feel more confident - while others will chase engagement at the expense of wellbeing. Young people can tell the difference, and they care.
Purposeful technology is going to matter more than ever. At Hinge, helping people move from digital interactions into meaningful moments offline is core to who we are. When people have better experiences, their trust grows - and so does our business, organically and sustainably.
I’ll share a concept that has been most impactful. Mudita. Finding joy in other people’s joy. There is no more positive or peaceful experience in my opinion. Experiences that help me slow down and notice… these are the ones that are most impactful for me.
