Bringing in a new Chief Technology Officer for a tech organization is one of the most important decisions a CEO makes, especially in a moment when technology is changing at full speed and the bar for technical leadership keeps rising.
Hiring a great CTO isn’t about becoming a technical expert overnight. It’s about knowing what your company needs, being honest about what gaps you’re trying to fill, and creating a process that lets you truly understand how someone leads.
When we set out to hire Vinay, I approached it not as a tech expert, but as someone determined to understand exactly what our company needed and how to find the person who could deliver it.
Here’s the playbook of the top 10 actions I used to hire our new CTO for Tinder, Vinay Kuruvila, what I prioritized, and why it worked.
1. Start by Defining the CTO You Actually Need
Before talking to a single candidate, I spent time getting very clear about the kind of CTO we needed for Tinder. I wasn’t just interested in the résumé, but it was the mindset that mattered most.
I spoke with over 40 people in the technology organization to gather feedback, including people leaders and individual contributors. I met with our designers and our product teams, and got input from HR, marketing, and other parts of the organization. Based on their feedback and my own intuition, I determined that I was looking for someone who had not drifted far away from hands-on work. Someone who still enjoys rolling up their sleeves to whiteboard, review code, experiment with new tools, and maybe even spends time hacking on things on the weekend.
Technology is moving too fast to lead from the sidelines. I needed someone who still loves the craft and who was still “in it.”
2. Find Someone Who Cares About the Category
Here’s a reality about executive hiring: many senior leaders live outside the product experience of the users they ultimately serve.
But passion matters. Curiosity matters. A genuine connection to the mission matters. This is especially true at a mission-driven company like Tinder (and Match Group), where the work we do impacts lives immeasurably.
Vinay showed his passion for our category in every interview. He wasn’t just interested in the role, he was excited about the impact we can have and felt a genuine connection to our mission. That made a big difference.
3. Check for Recent, Real Experience With the Technologies That Matter
AI is reshaping how teams operate, and we needed someone who had already navigated that shift. Vinay had just led AI adoption inside his previous company, building the internal foundations, rethinking how product and engineering teams create with AI at the core, and leveraging AI in the product in the right ways to benefit users.
If you’re hiring for a role that has rapidly evolving responsibilities, make sure you’re not evaluating someone based on experiences from five years ago. The ground moves too fast.
4. Aim for the Right Mix of Big-Company Rigor and Startup Scrappiness
A great CTO has seen what many different flavors of “excellent” look like. They know how systems scale, how teams collaborate, and how reliability is built into the DNA of the organization. However, they also need to know how to get things done in smaller environments where people wear multiple hats.
Vinay had both: time at large-scale operations such as Amazon and Venmo, plus hands-on experience at a fast-growing series C startup. That blend was exactly what we needed.
5. Look for Energy and Bias for Action
Technical skill is essential, of course, but so is momentum. I wanted someone who didn’t just have ideas, but acted on them quickly and decisively. Someone who ran toward tough problems, not around them. That kind of urgency and ownership is contagious, and it drives a team forward.
When you meet a candidate like that, you feel it immediately. Vinay had that energy from our very first conversation.
6. Make Sure the Technology and Product Leader Relationship Works Before You Hire
This may be the most overlooked part of executive hiring in a technical environment. The CTO and Head of Product relationship can make or break a company’s ability to ship great products, and the failure modes are predictable: mismatched expectations, lack of trust, or a quiet dismissal of the other’s expertise.
So we invested real time making sure Vinay and our Product leader, Mark Kantor, clicked. They needed to ideate together, debate together, and respect each other’s strengths. You can’t shortcut that step.
7. Consider the Human Factors
For us, being in our headquarters in Los Angeles mattered. Culture and collaboration are real advantages when leaders are physically in the mix with their teams. Vinay had been based in Seattle, but he was willing to move to L.A. That signaled his commitment to the role and made the decision easier.
8. Cast a Wide Net
We worked with an executive recruiting firm, which is standard for a search of this level, but the lead that ultimately brought Vinay to us came through my own network. I posted about the search on LinkedIn and a friend reached out with his name. Great hires come from lots of different places, so keep your eyes open.
In total, I interviewed around 15 candidates. Each conversation helped refine what I was really looking for in the right person to fit the role.
9. Evaluate How They Build and Scale Teams
Technology choices matter, but the team behind the technology matters even more. Spend time understanding how the candidate hires, mentors, and develops engineering talent. Ask how they’ve handled tough moments like reorgs, skill gaps, or cultural resets. A great CTO creates an environment where strong engineers want to stay and grow, and that’s foundational to long-term success.
10. Prioritize Clear Communication and Ability to Inspire
A CTO doesn’t just lead engineers, they translate complex ideas for the entire organization. Look for someone who can explain technical decisions in a way that brings people along rather than shuts conversation down. Great CTOs make the work feel accessible, not intimidating, and that clarity becomes a superpower when the company is moving fast.
Vinay checked every one of these boxes. More importantly, he felt like the right partner from the start.
If you’re in the middle of a CTO search yourself, or really a search for any type or level of candidate, this gives you a roadmap to finding a successful fit for your team.
