There’s been a shakeup in Etsy‘s leadership, with CEO Chad Dickerson and CTO John Allspaw departing.
Josh Silverman, the former Skype and Evite CEO who joined Etsy’s board last fall, is taking over as CEO, while VP of Engineering Mike Brittain will serve as interim CTO.
Dickerson (as well as Allspaw) will remain at Etsy in an advisory role until the end of May. He first joined the craft marketplace as CTO in 2008, then became CEO three years later — he held the role when Etsy went public in 2015. He’ll also be stepping down as chair of the company’s board of directors, with Fred Wilson taking his place.
“The Board decided that it was time for new leadership to take Etsy forward and I support that decision,” Dickerson said in the announcement, later adding, “I have the greatest degree of confidence in the long-term growth opportunities for Etsy under Josh’s leadership.”
When it went public, Etsy stock was initially priced at $16 per share and rose to nearly $35 on the first day of trading, but it was down at $11.39 per share at market close today. Hedge fund Black-and-White Capital LP is urging the company to explore strategic alternatives, including a possible sale.
As of 4:50pm Eastern, the company’s stock had fallen 14 percent in after-hours trading.
The news came as part of Etsy’s latest earnings release, which saw the company reporting a $400,000 net loss for the first quarter. It also said it will be eliminating 80 positions, which is 8 percent of its total workforce.
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Silverman said:
I have a deep appreciation for the mission of Etsy and the unique role that it plays in global e-commerce. Our focus will remain on delivering value to our community, including our shareholders. 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. In the coming weeks, I look forward to listening and learning from our employees, sellers, buyers and shareholders to help ensure we are focusing on the most value-enhancing near- and long-term opportunities.
