1. Rafe Colburn appointed Chief Product and Technology Officer effective September 8, 2025. 2. Colburn previously led product and engineering at Etsy and Depop. 3. His role aims to enhance the shopping experience through technology and AI. 4. Departure of former Chief Product Officer, Nick Daniel, noted. 5. Colburn's appointment signals focus on innovation and customer-oriented growth.
Leadership changes can positively influence innovation and operational efficiency. Historical data show that strategic leadership transitions often correlate with stock price recoveries.
Leadership changes that emphasize technology responsiveness can significantly sway investor confidence and customer satisfaction.
The effects of leadership changes generally manifest over time as strategies are implemented.
BROOKLYN, N.Y., Sept. 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Etsy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETSY), which operates two-sided online marketplaces that connect millions of passionate and creative buyers and sellers around the world, today announced that Rafe Colburn, the company's current Chief Technology Officer, will expand his remit to Chief Product and Technology Officer, effective September 8, 2025. In this new role, Colburn will now oversee the product and engineering organizations for the Etsy marketplace. He will report to Kruti Patel Goyal, Etsy's President and Chief Growth Officer, and remain part of the company's executive team.
This appointment follows the departure of Nick Daniel, who is leaving Etsy to pursue other opportunities. Daniel's last day as Chief Product Officer will be September 5, 2025, and he will remain with the company in an advisory capacity until October.
"Rafe truly understands the needs of the Etsy community, has a proven track record of scaling two-sided marketplaces, and motivates and inspires teams to deliver outstanding user experiences," said Etsy's President and Chief Growth Officer, Kruti Patel Goyal. "With this expanded scope, Rafe will play an even greater role in ensuring that we leverage technology in a way that translates to a seamless and differentiated shopping experience. I am confident in his ability to create a better experience for our customers and help Etsy reignite growth."
Colburn said, "Our unique inventory and the ability to connect with the person behind the item set Etsy apart from nearly any other marketplace. I'm incredibly excited to step into this expanded role at such a pivotal moment. We have a tremendous opportunity to harness AI and other emerging technologies to make the shopping experience even more personal, more intuitive, and more delightful—while staying true to what makes Etsy so special."
"I also want to thank Nick for his dedication and significant contributions to Etsy," Patel Goyal added. "Over the past decade, he has led some of our most notable launches, improved the shopping experience, and played a critical role in expanding our services offering. We wish him all the best in his next chapter."
Rafe Colburn Biography
Rafe Colburn is the Chief Technology Officer at Etsy. Previously, Rafe served as Chief Product and Technology and Officer at Depop, where he was responsible for driving the vision for Depop's end-to-end user experience while building a high performing product organization.
Previous to Depop, Rafe served as Vice President of Engineering at Etsy, and was responsible for Etsy's Ads, Fulfilment, Seller Experience, Marketing Technology, and Landing Experience teams. During his tenure, he established Etsy's Data Engineering team, and was responsible for Payments and Checkout, Compliance, International, Member Services, and Trust & Safety engineering.
Earlier in his career, Colburn was the Principal Engineer at IDology and worked as a consultant at a number of firms building custom applications. He has authored numerous articles, papers, and books on Web development.
About Etsy
Etsy, Inc. operates two-sided online marketplaces that connect millions of passionate and creative buyers and sellers around the world. These marketplaces share a mission to "Keep Commerce Human," and we're committed to using the power of business and technology to strengthen communities and empower people. Our primary Etsy marketplace is the global destination for unique and creative goods. Buyers come to Etsy to be inspired and delighted by items that are crafted and curated by creative entrepreneurs. For sellers, we offer a range of tools and services that address key business needs.
Etsy, Inc. also owns fashion resale marketplace Depop. Our marketplaces operate independently, while benefiting from shared expertise in product, marketing, technology, and customer support.
Etsy was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York.
Etsy has used, and intends to continue using, its Investor Relations website and the Etsy News Blog (etsy.com/news) to disclose material non-public information and to comply with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Accordingly, you should monitor our investor relations website and the Etsy News Blog in addition to following our press releases, SEC filings, and public conference calls and webcasts.
Investor Relations Contact:
Deb Wasser, Vice President, Investor Relations
Sarah Marx, Senior Director, Investor Relations
ir@etsy.com
Media Relations Contact:
Kelly Clausen, Vice President, Communications & Community
Lauren Bayse, Senior Director, Corporate Communications
press@etsy.com
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains or references forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements include statements relating to Mr. Colburn's ability to create a more personalized, intuitive and differentiated shopping experience and help Etsy reignite growth. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not historical facts. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terms such as "could," "ensure," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "will," or similar expressions and derivative forms and/or the negatives of those words.
Forward-looking statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those that we expect. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to: (1) macroeconomic, geopolitical, and other events outside of our control; (2) the level of demand for our services or products sold in our marketplaces; (3) the importance to our success of the trustworthiness of our marketplaces and our ability to attract and retain active and engaged communities of buyers and sellers; (4) any real or perceived inaccuracies in our operational metrics; (5) if we or our third-party providers are unable to protect against technology vulnerabilities, service interruptions, security breaches, or other cyber incidents; (6) our dependence on continued and unimpeded access to third-party services, platforms, and infrastructure; (7) operational and compliance risks related to our payments systems; (8) the global scope of our business; (9) our ability to recruit and retain employees; (10) our ability to compete effectively; (11) our ability to enhance our current offerings and develop new offerings to respond to the changing needs of sellers and buyers; (12) risks related to our environmental, social, and governance activities and disclosures; (13) barriers to international trade and our efforts to grow our marketplace globally; (14) acquisitions, dispositions, or strategic partnerships that may prove unsuccessful or divert management attention; (15) our ability to deal effectively with fraud or other illegal activity; and (16) litigation and evolving global legal and regulatory requirements, including privacy and data protection laws, tax laws, product liability laws, laws regulating speech and platform moderation, antitrust laws, and intellectual property and counterfeiting regulations. These and other risks and uncertainties are more fully described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2025, and subsequent reports that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements we may make. In light of these risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance, achievements, or events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will occur. Forward-looking statements represent our beliefs and assumptions only as of the date of this press release. We disclaim any obligation to update forward-looking statements.
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SOURCE Etsy, Inc.