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Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield is part of the newest 'it' power couple in Silicon Valley - here's what we know about the newly engaged billionaire's relationship with his fiance, who runs a $1.4 billion company
Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield is part of the newest 'it' power couple in Silicon Valley - here's what we know about the newly engaged billionaire's relationship with his fiance, who runs a $1.4 billion company
On June 2, Butterfield confirmed in an Instagram post that he had officially proposed. Rubio posted similar photos a few days earlier, on May 27. The news comes just weeks after Butterfield jokingly proposed to Rubio on Twitter. Aside from this stunt - which sparked confusion from coworkers and the broader Silicon Valley network alike on social media - their relationship has remained largely under the radar.
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Keep reading for a look at Silicon Valley's newest engaged power couple.
Together, the couple is one of the defining "it" couples of Silicon Valley.
They're power players in their own right, both running billion-dollar businesses.
Butterfield, who is 16 years Rubio's senior, continues to make headlines after his company, Slack, went public on June 20. Despite running high-profile companies, much of their relationship has been under the radar.
Butterfield is a self-taught coder who studied philosophy in college.
Before founding Flickr, Butterfield started an online gaming company with his Flickr cofounder and then-wife, Caterina Fake; they were married from 2001 to 2008. The pair — along with Butterfield's friend Jason Classon — originally started an online multiplayer gaming company called Ludicorp.
After the startup failed to raise the money needed, the couple founded the photosharing platform Flickr. The company later sold to Yahoo for $20 million in 2015. Butterfield and Fake joined Yahoo in the acquisition — Butterfield worked there for three years.
Butterfield currently serves as Slack's CEO, while his cofounder Cal Henderson is the company's chief technology officer. The company went public this week.
Business Insider's Julie Bort reported that the pair stands to make millions, if not billions, off their stakes in the company. Butterfield's stake is worth over $1.7 billion, while Henderson's is worth over $672 million.
Rubio attended business school at Penn State University.
After working at Johnson & Johnson through Penn State's co-op program, Rubio decided to pursue a full-time job offer before completing her last few credits. The professional experience led to positions at Warby Parker and All Saints in London, where she worked as the head of innovation.
Both Rubio and her Away cofounder Steph Korey work at the company full-time.
When asked about her morning routine in a March 2019 interview with Marie Claire, Rubio said, "Whatever my first thing of the day is, I make sure to wake up three hours before that to workout, read, meditate, catch up on emails, or chat with my boyfriend, since usually we're not in the same place."
She did not, however, specify that the boyfriend is Butterfield.
While Butterfield and Rubio's respective Instagram feeds feature some photos of them together, not much is publicly known about their relationship.
In January, Rubio shared a photo of the two of them together, captioning the photo, "more keys to lose."
And on March 21, Rubio wished Butterfield a happy birthday by posting a photo of him smiling happily with two ice cream cones in Rome.
On May 14, following news of Away's $1.4 billion valuation, Butterfield proposed to Rubio over Twitter in what later turned out to be high-profile joke.
However, on June 2 — less than three weeks after the joke Twitter proposal — Butterfield announced on Instagram that he had officially asked Rubio to marry him.
The slideshow he posted included ten photos of the couple and ended "with one taken just a few minutes" after Butterfield proposed.
Rubio, for her part, confirmed the news on her own Instagram account, posting photos of the two newly engaged executives.
The photos, posted three weeks ago, showed Rubio wearing an engagement ring.
According to The New York Times, the proposal took place over Memorial Day while the couple was hiking in Tofino, British Columbia.
"Ms. Rubio said she momentarily wondered if he was only proposing because of Twitter, asking, 'Are you serious?'" reported The Times.