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Jack Hanlon
AI @ Meta
Jack Hanlon is a seasoned professional with a rich background in digital practices and product development spanning roles at Meta, Reddit, Jet.com, Walmart, and as a co-founder of Kinetic Social.
He is currently a key figure at Meta, spearheading the development of cutting-edge generative AI technologies for global user benefit and offers consulting services for Fortune 1000 companies navigating the digital landscape.
Additionally, Jack educates and mentors future talent as a professor at NYU, teaching courses in Retail Strategy & Analytics, Retail Math, and the History of Retail, adding value to the next generation of business leaders.
His impactful journey includes being recognized in Forbes' '30 under 30' list thanks to his co-founding role at Kinetic Social, a major player in social media advertising that secured substantial funding within a short timeframe.
Jack's commitment to community involvement is evident through his advisory board positions at Crisis Text Line and Code for Democracy as well as his pro-bono work for Empowerment Health, showcasing a broad spectrum of social responsibility.
His ability to blend effective communication with data-driven insights equips Jack to lead global teams through intricate projects, especially those centered around solving complex challenges, using data to drive tangible outcomes for customers, teams, and businesses alike.
Highlights
Amidst all of the talk of Founder Mode, let's talk for a second about Exec Coaches!
In the beginning of my career I was a pro musician playing in the orchestra pit for the musical "Tommy" in SF and the other guitarist and the bassist were monsters. One day they were talking about their instructors and I said "Why would you two have instructors, you're as good as anyone I've played with?" They explained to me that at the highest levels, feedback is even more important as it's harder to get and that without guidance your growth risks coming to a screeching halt.
As I transitioned into my career in tech I took that knowledge with me. Not many managers seem to take the craft of management seriously enough, so it's no guarantee you'll get the coaching you need in your given situation. And as you get more senior, your leadership has less exposure to your work and less time to offer specific guidance. You have to have a great executive coach.
Different coaches have different skills, focus areas, and parts of the journey that they are best suited for. I have worked with three fantastic coaches over the course of my career, for very different needs in very different contexts, and each one was key for that stage of development.
When I had people on my team who needed coaching about specific topics to help them develop as they were making the leap to exec/leadership roles, I called Merritt Tilney. In my conversations with her I found someone who had been an executive and had very pragmatic ways of thinking about and approaching organizational challenges. I knew I could rely on her to make things happen and she always did.
When I was starting at Reddit, I connected with Judy King, ACC, MBA. Judy had also been an executive and conversations with her were like having a friend who also was an expert. I had some difficult personal situations during this time (it was COVID-era) and even when Judy and I weren't working together, she would check in on me. She's an amazing person.
When I was thinking about leaving Reddit, I engaged with Marcy Swenson. Marcy had very different ways of viewing organizational situations and challenged me in new ways. I had moments where she gave me feedback I didn't agree with, but over time found the truth of her points. It was the push I needed at that time and the honesty that helped me make some key changes.
Maybe these folks would be great for you or maybe there's someone else who will better support you for your part of the journey, but regardless if you want to perform at the highest levels you need a coach. This path is harder than Founder Mode's "I need to do everything myself!" because it forces you to grow, not just to obsess over control and a lack of trust of the people around you. But if you show up ready to change and challenge yourself, you can become the leader your people need.
Today we are releasing several best-in-class features in meta.ai including our state of the art image personalization model in beta! https://lnkd.in/e-2d2A7y
You probably know that in meta.ai (on any chat with meta.ai, via any search entrypoint, or on the website) you can type "Imagine [...]" and do image generation. But now you can type Imagine me [...] and get generated images that include you in the image! (Here are a few of me I just made for fun).
Additionally, for any other image you create, you can now add, replace, or remove objects via prompts (or tap to edit on www.meta.ai) so you can really dial in your creations.
So proud of the many people that made magic happen to make these products exciting, fun, and most importantly safe!
