Lidiane Jones

Lidiane Jones
Lidiane Jones
Born	Template:Birth year and age
Birthplace	São Paulo, Brazil
Nationality	Brazilian-American
Occupation	Business executive
Known for	CEO of Bumble, CEO of Slack Technologies

Lidiane Jones (born 1979) is a Brazilian-American business executive who has held senior leadership roles at several major technology companies. She served as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Bumble, the online dating and social networking platform, from January 2024 until her resignation in early 2025. Prior to Bumble, Jones served as CEO of Slack Technologies, a workplace communication platform owned by Salesforce, from January 2023 to November 2023. Born in São Paulo, Brazil, Jones built her career in the American technology industry through executive positions at Salesforce, Sonos, and Microsoft before ascending to the top roles at Slack and Bumble. Following her departure from Bumble, she joined Silversmith Capital Partners as a Senior Advisor and was appointed to the board of directors of Validity Inc.

Early Life

Lidiane Jones was born in 1979 in São Paulo, Brazil. She grew up in Brazil before relocating to the United States to pursue higher education and a career in the technology sector. Jones's background as a Brazilian immigrant who rose to lead major American technology companies became a notable aspect of her public profile during her tenure at both Slack and Bumble.

Education

Jones attended the University of Michigan, where she pursued her studies in technology and engineering. Her educational background at the University of Michigan provided the technical foundation for a career that would span multiple segments of the technology industry, from enterprise software to consumer hardware to social media platforms.

Career

Early Career at Microsoft

Before entering the executive ranks at major technology companies, Jones held positions at Microsoft, one of the world's largest software corporations. Her time at Microsoft provided her with experience in large-scale enterprise technology operations, which would inform her later leadership roles.

Sonos

Jones also held an executive position at Sonos, the consumer electronics company known for its wireless home audio products. Her tenure at Sonos gave her experience in the consumer technology hardware space, broadening her expertise beyond pure software companies.

Salesforce

Jones spent a significant portion of her career at Salesforce, the cloud-based software company headquartered in San Francisco. At Salesforce, she rose to senior executive positions, gaining deep experience in enterprise cloud computing and software-as-a-service platforms. Her work at Salesforce positioned her as a candidate to lead Slack Technologies after Salesforce acquired the workplace messaging platform in 2021.

CEO of Slack Technologies

In December 2022, it was announced that Jones would become the CEO of Slack Technologies, succeeding co-founder Stewart Butterfield, who had announced his departure from the company. Jones officially assumed the role in January 2023. The appointment was a significant move for both Slack and Salesforce, as Jones was tasked with leading the messaging platform through its integration into the broader Salesforce ecosystem while maintaining Slack's distinct identity and product development.

During her tenure at Slack, Jones focused on the continued integration of the platform with Salesforce's suite of enterprise tools. In a June 2023 interview with Fortune, she discussed her vision for deepening the connection between Slack and Salesforce's broader product offerings, aiming to make Slack a more central hub for enterprise workflows rather than solely a messaging application.

Jones also emphasized the role of artificial intelligence in Slack's future product strategy. In a May 2023 interview with The Boston Globe, she outlined plans to incorporate AI capabilities into Slack's platform to assist with productivity, knowledge management, and the rollout of new features. Her focus on AI integration was consistent with broader industry trends in 2023, as technology companies across the sector raced to incorporate generative AI tools into their products following the widespread adoption of ChatGPT and similar technologies.

In a Fast Company interview published in early 2023, Jones discussed her leadership approach and her priorities for Slack, including her emphasis on product development, user experience, and maintaining the company's culture during a period of transition under Salesforce's ownership.

Jones's tenure at Slack lasted less than a year. In November 2023, it was reported that she would step down as CEO of Slack to take on the role of CEO at Bumble, the online dating company. Her departure after approximately ten months at the helm of Slack was notable in the technology industry, though the opportunity to lead a publicly traded company as its top executive represented a significant career advancement.

CEO of Bumble

Jones was appointed CEO of Bumble in late 2023, with the transition taking effect in January 2024. Her appointment coincided with the departure of Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd from the CEO role, though Wolfe Herd remained involved with the company as executive chair.

At Bumble, Jones was charged with leading the dating and social networking company through a challenging period for the online dating industry. She brought her background in enterprise technology and product development to a consumer-facing platform with a user base spanning multiple countries.

During her time as CEO, Jones made several strategic decisions regarding Bumble's product direction. However, some of these decisions proved controversial. According to Fortune, one notable move during her tenure involved changes to Bumble's signature features, which had defined the platform's differentiated position in the competitive online dating market.

Jones's tenure at Bumble lasted approximately one year. In January 2025, Bumble announced that Jones was resigning from the CEO position. Founder Whitney Wolfe Herd announced she would return to the role of CEO, resuming direct operational leadership of the company she had founded. The transition represented a return to founder-led management for Bumble.

Reporting on Jones's departure noted the challenges she had faced in the role. In a May 2025 interview, Wolfe Herd stated that she had not initially planned to return as CEO but felt compelled to do so, in part after observing the toll the role had taken on her successor. NDTV reported on Jones's resignation and the return of Wolfe Herd to the CEO position, framing it as a significant leadership change for the publicly traded dating company.

Following Jones's departure, Bumble underwent additional restructuring under Wolfe Herd's returned leadership. In June 2025, the company announced significant job cuts of 240 roles as part of a broader restructuring effort aimed at saving approximately $40 million annually and redirecting resources toward technology innovation.

Post-Bumble Career

After departing Bumble, Jones transitioned into advisory and board roles in the technology and investment sectors. In May 2025, it was announced that she had joined Silversmith Capital Partners, a growth equity firm, as a Senior Advisor. The announcement described Jones as "an accomplished technology executive and former CEO of Slack and Bumble," and indicated she would advise the firm on investments and portfolio company operations in the technology sector.

In September 2025, Validity Inc., a provider of marketing and customer data intelligence solutions, announced that Jones had been appointed to its board of directors. The appointment drew on her experience leading technology companies through periods of growth and transformation. Fortune covered the appointment as part of its coverage of notable executive moves among women in the technology industry.

Personal Life

Jones is of Brazilian origin, having been born and raised in São Paulo before moving to the United States. She holds Brazilian and American citizenship, making her a Brazilian-American. Her journey from São Paulo to the executive suites of major American technology companies has been noted in profiles published during her tenures at Slack and Bumble.

Legacy

Jones's career trajectory — from software engineer to CEO of two prominent technology companies within a span of two years — placed her among a relatively small group of executives, and an even smaller group of women and immigrants, to have led multiple well-known technology companies in rapid succession. Her appointment as CEO of Slack in January 2023 and subsequent move to Bumble in January 2024 drew attention both for the speed of the transitions and for the contrasting nature of the two companies: one an enterprise workplace communication tool, the other a consumer dating and social networking platform.

Her relatively brief tenures at both Slack (approximately ten months) and Bumble (approximately one year) also became part of a broader discussion in the technology industry about the challenges facing externally hired CEOs, particularly those succeeding founders at companies with strong founder-identified cultures. At Slack, she succeeded co-founder Stewart Butterfield; at Bumble, she succeeded founder Whitney Wolfe Herd, who ultimately returned to the CEO role after Jones's departure.

Following her departure from Bumble, Jones's move into advisory and board roles at firms such as Silversmith Capital Partners and Validity Inc. indicated a transition toward leveraging her operational experience in a governance and strategic advisory capacity within the technology investment ecosystem.