Shopify witnessed a major change in its senior leadership as two of its executives got replaced. To lift itself from the continuous downward trend, the Ottawa-based e-commerce platform replaced its Chief Financial Officer, Amy Shapero with long-time investment banker Jeff Hoffmeister. Meanwhile, Vice-President of Product, Kaz Nejatian will now double up as Chief Operating Officer.
Amy Shapero, who led the company over the past five years will step down after third-quarter earnings announcement, which will be released on October 27. Shapero was part of the leadership when Shopify witnessed explosive growth during the pandemic before the current economic slowdown. The recent downturn also resulted in the lay of 10 percent of Shopify’s global workforce in July.
Toby Shannan (COO) is retiring after 12 years with Shopify and will join the Board of Directors. I’ve asked @CanadaKaz to take over as VP Product & COO. Amy Shapero (CFO) will leave after the next quarter and then transition the role to Jeff Hoffmeister https://t.co/hhPaWV7URo
— tobi lutke (@tobi) September 8, 2022
About Jeff Hoffmeister
Jeff Hoffmeister, who will succeed Shapero has worked for two decades at Morgan Stanley in its Technology Investment Banking group. Hoffmeister led multiple high-profile transactions during his tenure at Morgan Stanley including Shopify’s initial public offering in 2015.
I look forward to leveraging my deep industry experience and working closely with Tobi and the rest of Shopify’s talented team to strengthen the Company’s global leadership position and advance its mission of making commerce better for everyone.
Jeff Hoffmeister
Commenting on the addition of Hoffmeister to the senior executives, Tobi Lütke, Founder & CEO of Shopify said, “As we position Shopify for the future, the addition of Jeff to our leadership team will continue to strengthen our ability to deliver value for our merchants, partners and investors. We are fortunate to benefit from his more than 20 years of investment banking experience in the technology sector, and his keen vision of the future of the industry”.
Transition
Hoffmeister said he is looking to contribute to the company with his “deep industry experience”.
“I am honored to join Shopify as CFO at such an important time in the Company’s history. Having served as a trusted advisor to Shopify for many years, including leading its IPO, I look forward to leveraging my deep industry experience and working closely with Tobi and the rest of Shopify’s talented team to strengthen the Company’s global leadership position and advance its mission of making commerce better for everyone,” he said in the official press release posted on the company’s website.
Meanwhile, CFO Shapero said she is looking forward to seeing Shopify succeed under the new leadership. “I am deeply honored to have served as Shopify’s CFO and proud of the progress we’ve made, the team we built and the massive scaling we achieved together. Since 2018, I’ve watched Shopify grow into an international and world-class organization serving millions of merchants in more than 175 countries, and it has been a career highlight to be a part of this amazing story. Shopify continues to have a massive opportunity in front of it, and I look forward to watching the company’s continued success under Jeff’s leadership, long into the future.”
Retiring COO
Toby Shannan, COO is retiring after 12 years with Shopify. He is expected to join Shopify’s Board of Directors in January 2023 throughout that year. Kaz Nejatian while undertaking the new position will continue to serve as VP of Product. Nejatian, who led the development and delivery of Shopify Capital and Shop Pay joined the company in 2019. He had earlier worked as the lead product manager at Facebook.
It is now public that Tobi has asked me to serve as Shopify’s next COO in addition to my current role as VP of Product. I am thrilled to take on this new challenge and to support Shopify’s growth, revenue, customer success and merchant services teams. https://t.co/wAp3rXMGlj
— Kaz Nejatian (@CanadaKaz) September 8, 2022
Talking about Nejatian’s new role as COO, Lütke said, “Kaz is the right person to succeed Toby Shannan in the Chief Operating Officer role. Kaz is an innovative and strategic product leader who knows first hand what it means to make commerce better for everyone, which positions him ideally for this role. I would also like to thank Toby for his invaluable leadership and commitment to Shopify over the last decade. We look forward to continuing to benefit from his guidance as he transitions into his new role of special advisor and then Board member in 2023.”
Nejatian is thrilled with the new opportunity. “It’s a thrill to take on the role of Chief Operating Officer, where I look forward to ensuring our product-led ethos is front and center in all we do. Our merchants are at the center of everything we do at Shopify, and helping them run their businesses and reach their goals in today’s dynamic market is more important than ever. There are so many opportunities ahead for our organization and I look forward to continuing to work closely with our talented team as Shopify’s VP of Product and COO,” he said in the release.
