Tina Sharkey

Co-Founder and Former CEO | Brandless
 

Tina Sharkey has driven innovation in media, commerce, and community for more than two decades, pioneering the development and adoption of pivotal consumer brands and platforms that bring data and technology together. A C-suite executive, entrepreneur, investor, and change agent, she has created, led, and scaled global brands and businesses transforming the way we communicate, shop and share.

As its co-founder and former CEO, Tina built and operated the consumer products company Brandless, assembling and leading the team that developed from scratch a direct-to- consumer power-house named one of Fast Company’s most innovative retailers two years in a row. She scaled Johnson & Johnson’s BabyCenter to become the largest platform in the world for new and expectant mothers; oversaw AOL’s defining transition from a closed network to the open web; served as President of the renowned Sesame Street Digital Group, and co-founded iVillage, a pioneering online destination for women that became one of the most popular sites on the internet.

Her success in creating relatable brands and vibrant, engaged communities has been a throughline in her otherwise diverse career.

Tina advises C-suite executives of Fortune 500 companies on investments, M&A, strategic partnerships and incubation, and mentors founders and business leaders. She is also an
investor focused on disruptive companies – and their founders – and has worked extensively with technology-enabled consumer and enterprise startups, including Conde Nast, eBay DreamWorks, and Salesforce.

Recognized as one of the top 100 People Transforming Business by Business Insider, named by Fast Company as one of the Top Women in Technology, and chosen as one of Entrepreneur’s Most Daring Entrepreneurs, Tina has delivered keynote and mainstage speeches on brands that scale,
harnessing the power of community, entrepreneurship, purpose driven disruption, and digital transformation at events including Milken Global Conference, TechCrunch Disrupt, NRF, Wall Street Journal D Live, and TEDx. She lectures at universities including Harvard Business School, The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, The Marshall School at USC, and Stanford. A Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute, Tina served on the Board of Directors of HomeAway, until its successful sale to Expedia.