Drew Vollero on the four pillars of IR success, the two key challenges of the CFO role and how Reddit prioritizes user questions over analysts in its r/RDDT subreddit
Drew Vollero, CFO at Reddit, is used to doing things a little differently. He oversees the finance function at the social media giant at a time when its investor relations team are receiving plaudits for their unique approach to shareholder communications.
The firm took home two trophies at last year’s US IR Impact Awards – for best innovation in shareholder communications and the coveted rising star award for Jesse Rose.
Ahead of this year’s event, Vollero talks about where recognition like this fits into Reddit’s measure of IR success, how his own approach to IR has evolved across a career that also saw him work for Pepsi, Mattel and Snap, and where he finds himself doing the most investor education. Vollero also shares where you’ll find him reading and posting on Reddit.
You can read more about the approach to IR from high-profile CFOs across market caps, sectors and regions in our back catalogue of The CFO.
Tell us about your background and how you came to be Reddit’s first CFO?
A common theme in the companies I’ve joined is that they were leading consumer brands, both large and tangible, with Pepsi, Mattel and Allied Universal. A couple had more of a digital start-up feel with Snap and now Reddit.
I’ve always been drawn to companies with strong communities, unique business models and global appeal. Reddit was a standout for me. I believe it’s one of the last major platforms built around something truly unique and important: real human-generated content and communities. It has a very differentiated financial model, one of the most powerful I’ve ever seen.
When I joined Reddit in 2021, I saw an opportunity to help translate that differentiated strength into a sustainable operating framework. To me, Reddit was a diamond in the rough. In the first few years, I focused on both scaling the business and partnering with the operating teams to grow revenues, establish rigor and prepare the company for public markets. We also built our financial function, which was nascent, with a handful of folks when I joined. Today, my focus has evolved, but priorities remain the same – building on Reddit’s strong fundamentals and scaling the company for what we believe could be a special company.
You’ve been finance chief at several high-profile companies – how does your approach to IR change depending on where you are?
One of my mentors often used the phrase ‘we say, we do’. I think about that simple statement quite often in the business place and I believe it shapes how we think about IR at Reddit. Investors appreciate companies that can articulate and execute a vision – they don’t appreciate surprises.
IR is about credibility, clarity and consistency. I don’t believe those fundamentals change. That said, the education curve does vary a bit because most companies have different models and growth profiles. For example, investors in both private and public companies share some common ground but may also think about different things. When I joined Reddit, we spent a lot of time on foundational education because our model is distinct from our peers. This was beneficial in helping investors understand our story and the value of Reddit’s human content and communities – and how that translates into a scalable business model.
Life cycle stage matters too. A newly public company focuses on disclosure rhythms and shaping expectations. A mature company might focus more on a capital allocation framework or on managing the bottom line.
But the principle is always long-term trust. ‘We say, we do’ is a great way to build credibility.
What about the characteristics you look for in your head of IR?
At Reddit, we have an exceptional IR team that has built a program that scales with our business. We’re fortunate to have the right people in the right place.
I think about three characteristics. The most important characteristic for me is balanced and informed judgment. IR sits at the intersection of finance, strategy, communications and markets. You need to understand both the numbers and the story. Second is intellectual curiosity: markets, investor frameworks and business evolution. A strong IR leader drives narratives, anticipates questions and pressure-tests assumptions. And third is leadership, as IR teams serve many different constituents, both internally and externally. IR teams run pretty autonomously: they are highly specialized and, at times, may not be well understood inside the company in terms of how they do what they do. A successful head of IR needs confidence and respect from management, investors and the board, as well as the company’s operating leaders, whose input is critical to their investor narratives.
Can you share an example of when investor relations has really proved its worth to your work as CFO or the company more broadly?
The IPO process is the clearest example. Investor relations isn’t just about taking calls: the team helps forge the sell-side relationships and shape the investor base and perception from day one.
During Reddit’s IPO preparation, we spoke with a wide range of investors, some unfamiliar with our business and others long-time believers. It’s important that both groups have a good grasp of our story and confidence in our future growth. That alignment, driven by IR, allows management to operate on a multi-year horizon rather than reacting to short-term noise. The IPO grind is a very busy time for a CFO. It would be really difficult to assemble a strategic group of IPO investors without significant input from the IR team. Successful IR teams can build a deep, broad understanding of investors necessary for a widely held offering.
The fingerprints of our IR team were not only obvious as we built our IPO playbook, but their impact was also felt as we innovated in our shareholder engagement. You have much more creative freedom around IPOs than most people think. For example, we offered a directed share program that allowed users and moderators to purchase Reddit shares at the IPO price. That was important to us because Reddit was built by users and communities, and we wanted them to have the opportunity to become real owners of Reddit… and they did.
Reddit won the Best innovation in shareholder engagement award at the IR Impact Awards – US 2025, while Jesse Rose took the rising star award. Where do accolades like that fit into how you measure the success of the IR program? What else do you look at?
It’s a great recognition for the team and we’re honored. Accolades are encouraging because they’re a bit of a signal that you’re on the right path and making an impact beyond your company.
When I think about the success of an IR program, I think about it on four levels. First, are we executing our core responsibilities: do investors understand our story, model and long-term strategy?
Some of our bigger investors enjoy speaking shortly after our earnings call as their teams digest the data
At the next level, we want a great shareholder base, which we don’t control, but can influence over time. The question here is are we attracting the right long-term shareholders?
The next two levels are about the influence of the group. Is the IR team shaping management’s thoughts at Reddit? I believe companies have four key stakeholders that need to stay in balance: consumers, customers, employees and shareholders. Is IR representing the shareholders to help shape our direction?
Finally, I think good IR teams can influence the trading multiple over the medium- and long-term. Companies that have well-understood stories and execute consistently get rewarded with a higher multiple. Good IR teams can help there.
Where do you find yourself doing the most investor education?
Surprisingly, we don’t spend a tremendous amount of time on the numbers at Reddit because we have two distinct advantages vs other companies: first, the financial model is straightforward, and second, our financial results are quite compelling.
To that second point, our first two years as a public company have laid a solid foundation, including six consecutive quarters of over 60 percent revenue growth, six consecutive quarters over 90 percent gross margins and six consecutive quarters of GAAP profitability. We had a 35 percent net income margin in Q4 2025 and a 45 percent AEBITDA margin, with only $3 mn of CAPEX. So very differentiated, especially for a young company.
As we continue to scale, we’re focused on showing how our product investments translate into engagement and – ultimately – monetization. Investor education is ongoing, even for those who know the company well, because aspects of our business will continue to evolve.
Still, our story has always remained the same: Reddit is people and communities.
More recently, like many in the tech space, investor questions have focused on the future, specifically the role of AI and large language model providers.
How do you make decisions about which investor one-on-ones you need to be in and whether they’re virtual or in person?
It’s about impact and context, but every meeting matters. In-person meetings help build deeper relationships, while virtual meetings make it easier to connect with widely distributed groups. We use both formats, depending on cadence and location. Our goal isn’t volume. It’s meaningful, high-quality engagement.
In the digital era – where people create every product, model and strategy – [human capital] is a massive opportunity
Timing matters as well and the cycle starts after a quarterly earnings call. Some of our bigger investors enjoy speaking shortly after our earnings call as their teams digest the data. Those tend to be virtual calls, while some other investors favor face-to-face meetings later in the quarter at conferences or offices once they have digested the quarterly results. And frankly, some do both.
What’s your favorite thing about the investor relations work you do?
I enjoy the intellectual exchange with smart and savvy investors. The best investors challenge you in productive ways. They ask questions that force you to clarify thinking, refine assumptions or articulate strategy more clearly. That feedback loop is valuable. It’s a balanced discussion with thoughtful investors: we know Reddit better than they do, but they bring industry breadth and pattern recognition we often don’t see. Over time, you also build long-term relationships and a shared understanding of the business, which can be very constructive.
What about your least favorite?
Public markets naturally have a short-term lens and when focus drifts from long-term value creation, incentives can be skewed. At Reddit, I work closely with IR to make sure our investors see the bigger picture. We emphasize that every product initiative, investment decision and strategy contributes to the resilient business we’ve built for the long-term.
Across your career, what’s been your biggest challenge as CFO?
From my experience, the challenges have always been fairly consistent across industries and companies, but I’ve seen two challenges in particular stand out. First is balancing growth and discipline. I’ve always used the analogy that we need to carry water on both shoulders: we need to grow revenues and profits.
High-growth companies need to invest to capture opportunities, while also maintaining financial rigor to ensure those investments generate returns. This is a balance we’ve managed exceptionally well at Reddit, but I’ve seen that create friction in other places.
The other challenge is hiring exceptional people. Headcount is precious; everyone needs to be a star and fit within a high-performing culture. Too many companies take a comfortable approach to staffing: hiring average players with functional knowledge, moving slowly to address weak links or automatically backfilling roles whether they’re truly needed or not. In the digital era – where people create every product, model and strategy – this is a massive opportunity. Yet most companies still get it wrong. In reality, 80 to 90 percent of a company’s value is often created by the 20 percent of people everyone seeks out. That concentration of talent is the real bottleneck holding companies back.
What advice would you give to somebody looking to go into the CFO seat?
Broaden your lens beyond finance. I believe the strongest CFOs are operators because they understand product, go-to-market, talent and culture – not just accounting. The role requires judgment, communication and strategic clarity. You’re the driver of financial integrity. This comes with pressure, but it also forces you to think long-term and stay steady through different market cycles.
Do fewer spreadsheets and build more relationships. People gravitate to those they trust.
Remember, there is only one CFO at a company, so you need some luck and timing to get that opportunity. That said, I’ve always found the harder I work or the more thoughtfully I approach challenges, the luckier I get.
Finally, where can we find you reading (and posting) on Reddit?
You can’t go wrong with r/dadjokes, that’s one of my favorites. Nothing opens a presentation better than a dad joke, the great ice breaker. I also follow r/RDDT, our investor relations subreddit, where we host quarterly earnings AMAs. On earnings calls, before we start analyst questions, we answer user questions from r/RDDT and will later write responses to remaining questions in the post. It’s special to hear directly from users and see how retail investors think about the business. These subreddits can add value to traditional financial and investor channels and surface thoughtful conversations. Users care, pay attention and deserve a seat at the table. Reddit makes that possible.
