Shopify executive changes not enough to undermine success, analyst says

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A cluster of high-profile departures at Shopify Inc. likely don’t signal serious problems at Canada’s most valuable company, an analyst said on Thursday after the tech firm announced the latest in a series of changes to its leadership team.

Shopify chief executive Tobi Lütke on Wednesday told staff that three members of the seven-person executive team are stepping away from their roles, setting off speculation over what issues, if anything, prompted the moves.

“I personally don’t think that there’s anything material to read into this,” said Ygal Arounian, vice-president of equity research at Wedbush Securities. “Shopify and Tobi, they do things differently. This is very much in line with the way that they do things differently and it’s not really a huge shock to me.”

The most important point to remember, Arounian said, is that Lütke remains firmly at the helm.

In a note to staff posted online Wednesday, Lütke said chief technology officer Jean-Michel Lemieux, chief talent officer Brittany Forsyth and chief legal officer Joe Frasca will “start to transition” out of their roles.

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“Each one of them has their individual reasons but what was unanimous with all three was that this was the best for them and the best for Shopify,” he said. “We have a phenomenally strong bench of leaders who will now step up into larger roles.”

Lütke didn’t specify why they were leaving, but Forsyth said on Twitter that she wanted “to double down on my own entrepreneurship journey.”

Lütke’s announcement was the second time in less than a year that there have been major changes to Shopify’s executive team.

Last fall, chief product officer Craig Miller left the company, with Lutke assuming the role, and Harley Finkelstein moved from his position as chief operating officer to become president.

“I get it, it’s a lot of executive moves in a short period of time. But, again, it’s not Tobi and it’s not Harley,” said Arounian, who covers Shopify. “The investing community has immense faith in both Tobi and Harley. Those are the two, if either of them left, it would be a little harder to digest.”

Carolyn Levy, president of technologies at human resources consultant Randstad Canada, said a flurry of leadership changes at a major tech company can sometimes arise from a change in strategy, which can push out people who either don’t agree with the new vision or don’t have the skills to see it through.

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But she also said it wouldn’t be unusual to see significant churn right now, since the tech sector is booming and experienced executives are in high demand. Furthermore, the pandemic has brought about a wave of reflection, both personally and professionally.

“The tech sector is demanding and now it’s even more demanding than it has ever been in the past,” Levy said. “It’s normal to see change, specifically in this industry.”

In his note on Wednesday, Lütke said people can leave a job too early, or stay too long, but the three top executives were leaving Shopify “perfectly” on time.

“Shopify is playing the infinite game. We are building a company that will likely outlive all of us,” he said. “Playing the infinite game well means that more players get to play and the game continues long after our modest roles in it.”