Jen Rubio

Jennifer Rubio was born in the Philippines in 1986 or 1987. She moved to New Jersey when she was seven years old, having grown up in various cities across three continents. Her early entrepreneurial spirit was evident when, as a child, she acquired a lemonade stand by borrowing $20 from her father. Rubio attended Pennsylvania State University, initially pursuing a supply-chain management major. During her time at Penn State, she participated in a co-op program at Johnson & Johnson. Discovering a strong desire to pursue a career in business, Rubio left Penn State just before graduating to accept a full-time position at Neutrogena, where she had previously completed another co-op experience.

Rubio’s career progressed through marketing and social media roles before she joined Warby Parker in 2011 as the head of social media, leading early content and partnership initiatives. This role proved pivotal, as it was there she met Stephanie Korey, her future co-founder. In 2013, Rubio relocated to London, taking on the role of global director of innovation for the fashion brand AllSaints. Her tenure at AllSaints involved extensive international travel, further shaping her perspective on the travel industry. She also shared her expertise as an adjunct professor of social media at Miami Ad School and has been a guest lecturer at institutions such as Hyper Island, New York University, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, and Harvard University.

In 2015, Jen Rubio co-founded Away with Stephanie Korey, establishing a direct-to-consumer travel and luggage company. Away quickly distinguished itself with its focus on design and brand storytelling, particularly leveraging platforms like Instagram. By 2017, Away had successfully raised $31 million, marking it as one of the largest seed-financed female-backed startups at the time. Rubio served as the CEO of Away from 2021 until 2025, when she transitioned to the role of executive chair. Her leadership has been central to Away’s growth and its impact on the travel goods market. She married Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield in 2020, and they have two children.