Etsy names new CEO and technology chief departs
BROOKLYN, N.Y. - Etsy, Inc., the online retailer that serves as a storefront for thousands of custom furniture makers and woodworkers, named Josh Silverman to CEO, effective May 3, 2017.
Silverman succeeds Chad Dickerson, who is stepping down to a role of advisor for Etsy, which trades on the NASDAQ stock exchange.
Silverman previously served as president of Consumer Products and Services at American Express. Before that, he was CEO of Skype, CEO of shopping.com, an eBay company, and held various executive roles at eBay. He was also a co-founder and CEO of Evite, Inc. and he currently serves on the board of directors of Shake Shack.
Silverman credited Dickson with transforming Etsy from a chaotic startup, growing revenues of sellers over nine times, the revenues Etsy generates almost fourteen times and the operating profit Etsy generates almost fifteen times.
"Having worked at other marketplaces, I recognize how difficult it is to create a differentiated value proposition for buyers that provides a unique opportunity for sellers—and Etsy has done that," said Silverman. Etsy also announced that John Allspaw, Chief Technology Officer, will be leaving the Company and Mike Brittain, VP of Engineering, will be named interim CTO.
Etsy also reported a $421,000 loss despire revenue rising 18 percent to $96.9 million for the first quarter.
Have something to say? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.