Shopify has announced the appointment of the first chief operating officer in the company’s history – and it didn’t need to look far to find him.
The e-commerce firm said this week it has named longtime chief platform officer Harley Finkelstein to the new post.
As CPO, Mr. Finkelstein built the Shopify Partner program to enhance the company’s platform and merchant base. He also oversaw the creation of Shopify Plus, which caters to the company’s larger clients.
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“Harley is a strong leader at the forefront of Shopify’s growth who will be taking on an even larger role in deepening our relationships with merchants, partners and the public,” Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke said in a statement, noting that Finkelstein was actually one of the company’s first clients when he was selling T-shirts in law school.
“His entrepreneurial background gives him a natural understanding of our merchants and this perspective is invaluable to our business,” Mr. Lütke said.
Mr. Finkelstein, who joined Shopify in 2010, said he was excited to “continue his journey” with the Ottawa-based firm.
“I see my job as ensuring all our merchants and partners are well taken care of, so the rest of the team, especially Tobi, can focus on making sure our product and technology is not only good for the 200,000-plus merchants using us today, but the millions of merchants that we hope will use us one day,” he said in a statement.