E-commerce giant Shopify is undergoing significant leadership changes, announcing the promotion of Jess Hertz to Chief Operating Officer (COO) and the departure of Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) Bobby Morrison. These moves signal a continued evolution in the company's executive team following recent shifts.
Key Takeaways
- Jess Hertz, formerly General Counsel, steps into the COO role.
- Bobby Morrison, Chief Revenue Officer, has announced his departure.
- These changes follow the recent exit of former COO Kaz Nejatian.
New COO Takes the Helm
Jess Hertz has been promoted to the position of Chief Operating Officer, succeeding Kaz Nejatian who left Shopify last month to lead real estate platform Opendoor Technologies Inc. Hertz, who has been with Shopify for four years, previously served as the company's General Counsel. In her new role, Hertz outlined her priorities as making work visible, shortening feedback loops, delivering in smaller increments, and owning outcomes end-to-end. Shopify stated that Hertz's deep understanding of the business and her experience in building scalable systems across legal, talent, and other departments will enable the company to move faster and deliver more for its merchants.
Hertz brings a wealth of experience to the COO position, including her previous roles as staff secretary to the White House and general counsel for the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris transition team. She also served as an associate general counsel at Meta Platforms Inc. from 2018 to 2020.
Chief Revenue Officer Departs
Bobby Morrison announced his departure as Chief Revenue Officer after a three-and-a-half-year tenure at Shopify. Morrison described his time at the company as "some of the most impactful and fulfilling of my career." He previously held the CRO role at Intuit and had extensive experience at Verizon Communications Inc. Morrison credited Shopify's mission-driven, founder-led environment and praised CEO Tobi Lütke's leadership for significant achievements, including turning a negative cash flow in 2022 into consistent free cash flow and quintupling the company's market capitalization.
Strategic Context
These executive changes occur as Shopify continues to integrate artificial intelligence into its strategy and operations, highlighted by its recent partnership with OpenAI to enable product sales via ChatGPT. The company, a leader in e-commerce solutions, is focused on enhancing its services for merchants. The leadership transitions are expected to ensure a seamless continuation of Shopify's operational momentum and strategic initiatives.
