Duolingo’s senior global social media manager, Zaria Parvez, has left the company, the company confirmed to ADWEEK. Her last day was Friday (August 15).
She announced her departure on her LinkedIn page on Monday.
“After five unforgettable years, 8 billion impressions and even more jaw-drops—it’s time to take off the suit,” she wrote. “It’s been a privilege working alongside a phenomenal team that lifted me up and made the impossible feel routine. You all taught me how to fly & own my power every single day. As for the what, why, who, when, and how…I’m saving all that for the book.”
A spokesperson confirmed that the company plans to fill Parvez’s role, which sits on the brand marketing team. Duolingo is hiring for two more roles on the team of 10, in addition to Parvez’s backfill.
Duolingo was Parvez’s first job out of college in 2020, when she joined as a global social media coordinator. She then climbed the ranks, becoming senior global social media manager in 2023.
During her five-year tenure, she led the language learning app’s “evolution into a social-first brand, turning organic social into a growth engine that drove waves of new users,” she wrote on LinkedIn, adding that the brand’s social presence helped its market cap rise nearly sevenfold in five years.
From dancing in the pit at Charli XCX’s Sweat tour and trolling Drake, to being killed by a Tesla Cybertruck and coming back to life and entering the Love Island USA villa, Duolingo has become synonymous with its bold marketing antics, which almost always put its lime green owl Duo at the forefront.
“When you see an owl twerking on TikTok, the first thing that comes to mind is, ‘Oh, I haven’t done my Duolingo today.’ This approach is driving a lot of engagement for us,” chief marketing officer Manu Orssaud shared in ADWEEK’s April cover story.
Per its most recent earnings report, Duolingo earned $252.3 million in revenue in Q2, a 41% increase year-over-year, while subscription revenues rose 46%.