X (formerly Twitter) veteran Greg Owens joins Pinterest as Vice President of International

Pinterest has announced that Greg Owens will join the company as VP of International, effective 11th May. Based in Dublin, he will report to Lee Brown, Pinterest’s Chief Business Officer, who came onboard earlier this year to oversee global monetisation strategy. 

Owens most recently spent a decade at X (formerly Twitter) leading international teams. Prior to that, he held senior positions at Stepstone which involved scaling a number of businesses in the portfolio. And during his time as Managing Director of Digital Marketplaces at Mediahuis Ireland, he built and scaled the company's non-publishing digital business. 

As Pinterest looks to build momentum outside of North America, where over 80% of its monthly active users are based, this appointment is pitched as a strategic move to further unlock the platform’s full international revenue potential.

Owens will be responsible for driving Pinterest’s expansion across EMEA, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. As per Monday’s quarterly earnings, the company has seen ten quarters of consecutive double-digit user growth contributing to 631 million global monthly users, with international markets driving revenue growth of 27% YoY for Europe and 59% YoY for rest of world. Currently, international markets represent 25% of Pinterest’s revenue.

Brown comments: "Over the past several quarters, our international business has proven that Pinterest's value proposition resonates far beyond the US market. To truly unlock this growth, we need world class leadership, and Greg’s combination of commercial rigor and international operating experience is exactly what we need for this next chapter."

Owens says: "Pinterest is continuing to establish itself as a leading visual search and discovery platform, particularly for a new generation of users. What energises me most about this role is the opportunity to scale the platform’s monetisation across global markets while helping millions of people find inspiration and take action. I look forward to working with Lee and the entire team to deepen our relationships with international partners and unlock the platform's full potential for brands worldwide."

2026 RTIH Innovation Awards

Social commerce will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.

Check out our 2025 winners here.

Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”

“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”

He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”

Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.