Character.AI Welcomes David Brinker as Senior Vice President of Partnerships

We are excited to announce that David Brinker, a seasoned technology and media executive with over two decades of experience, has joined the Character.AI team as Senior Vice President of Partnerships. In this role, Brinker will build our partner ecosystem with media and entertainment companies and creators, tech companies and platforms, and consumer brands, opening opportunities for Character.AI to drive new experiences, user engagement, and revenue growth.

Get to Know Brinker

Brinker has a wealth of experience leading teams across various media and entertainment sectors, driving user engagement, growth, and revenue.

Most recently, Brinker served as Vice President of Content Partnerships, Business, and Operations at Snap Inc. During his nearly eight-year tenure, he played a pivotal role in expanding Snap's content business, transforming it from a small network of partners into a diverse ecosystem across industries that significantly contributed to the company's revenue growth. Brinker’s leadership was instrumental in establishing partnerships with world-renowned creators, media companies, sports leagues and teams, brands, and the music industry. Brinker credits the success at Snap to a “win-win-win” approach to partnerships - looking for collaborations that drive meaningful benefits to users, partners, and the business.

Before his role at Snap, Brinker held key positions at News Corp, including Senior Vice President and Global Head of Business & Corporate Development. He also served as the President of the New York Post for nearly four years. He was the Senior Vice President of Operations and Business Development for The Daily, News Corp's innovative mobile publication.

Brinker is also an advisor to several rising media and technology companies, including Particle, an AI-powered news app, and TollBit, a platform helping content owners monetize content with AI companies.

Outside of work, Brinker loves to cook, eat (especially pizza), run (he’s finished 22 marathons), and cycle. He lives in Manhattan with his wife Elyse and two teenage children, Alexandra and Zach. He is on the board of YouthINC, a venture philanthropy organization whose mission is to transform the lives of NYC youth by empowering the nonprofits that serve them.

Brinker‘s hire follows the appointments of Sunita Verma, as Character.AI’s Chief Technology Officer, and Erin Teague, as Character.AI’s Chief Product Officer. With strong track records of building scaled industry-leading consumer products, these new leaders will help us pursue our goal of providing a creative space for our users that is entertaining, interactive, and safe.