Shopify executive Satish Kanwar has stepped down from his position after serving the company for 10 years. Kanwar served as Shopify’s vice president (VP) of corporate development and head of product acceleration. He took to Twitter and LinkedIn to announce the news of his exit. Kanwar noted that he plans to focus on angel investing, family office and spending more time with his family.
“The end of this month marks my 10-year anniversary and last day at Shopify. It’s impossible to express my gratitude for everything that is this place, people, and product, which has been my world for a decade,” Kanwar wrote in a long post on LinkedIn.
Experience at Shopify
“I’ve had the privilege now of working with thousands of Shopifolk to build products for our merchants, like multi-channel, point of sale, marketing, storefronts, mobile, and more. If you’ve tuned into anything over the years, you’ve heard my slogan: channels, channels, channels. As our oldest acquired founder today, my last tour of duty leading Product Acceleration (M&A / Ventures) let me bring many more founders closer to and inside of Shopify. I’ve had as much fun in these last few years as my first, which is what makes Shopify, Shopify. It wasn’t always easy, but it was always worth it,” he further wrote.
Praising Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke, Kanwar wrote, “Shopify is a founder-led company built by founders for founders. Tobi embodies this founder’s mentality and has built a culture that identifies, empowers, and celebrates people who match this mindset. I’ve never second-guessed my identity as a founder despite being here over twice as long as I was one.”
He emphasised making Toronto the greatest city in the world again.”In 2013, Shopify had a bigger vision for Jet Cooper than we had for ourselves, so we built Shopify Toronto… and the rest is history. I’m biased, but I really think we changed the course of tech in the city with what followed. Toronto is the greatest city in the world, and it’s time to build again,” Kanwar mentioned.
What’s Next?
“In 2023, I’m also a happy husband, (cool) dad, (bad) golfer, angel investor, board member, and forever work-in-progress. I’m excited to spend more time on all of those things, plus work on our family office with the one and only Arati (more to come on that soon),” he indicated on his future plans.
Extending heartfelt gratitude for Shopify leadership and his team members, Kanwar wrote, “A heartfelt thanks to Tobias, Harley, Craig, Bram, Brandon, Anna, my amazing team, my fellow founders, the incredible alumni, and Shopifolk everywhere for a journey of a lifetime.” “I love Shopify, I’ll miss being a part of it, and I’ll always be rooting for us,” he concluded.
In a tweet reacting to Kanwar’s announcement, Lütke responded, “A legend of Shopify riding into the sunset after a job well done. Sad and grateful.” “What an honour it’s been for me to work so close to you over the last decade. What a legacy, homie,” wrote Shopif President Harley Finkelstein.
A legend of Shopify riding into the sunset after a job well done. Sad and grateful https://t.co/QgHB85t1az
— tobi lutke (@tobi) July 25, 2023
Kanwar’s Professional Journey: A Glimpse
Kanwar’s journey with Shopify started with Jet Cooper, a Toronto-based user experience (UX) and design agency, he co-founded along with Verne Ho in 2009. The company not only catered to startups but also popular brands such as Cineplex and Telus. Kanwar became part of Shopify after it acquired Jet Cooper in August 2013 for an undisclosed sum. Kanwar played a pivotal role in taking Shopify from a promising tech startup to the e-commerce giant which it is today. He contributed to various departments such as operations, product and corporate development through his leadership roles.
Jet Cooper’s acquisition by Shopify was a strategic deal, which was designed to boost Shopify’s design and UX capabilities. After the acquisition, Jet Cooper’s entire 25 employees came under Shopify. Kanwar came on board as director of operations for Shopify’s Toronto office, while his co-founder Ho joined as director of design.
In a 2013 interview with Financial Post, Lutke told that Shopify was facing difficulty in hiring design talents. Hence, the company purchased Jet Cooper and gave it the responsibility to improve the look and feel of Shopify’s online stores. Back then, Lütke said the acquisition brings “some of the best designers in the world” to Shopify.
Back in 2013, Shopify was just a privately-held company based primarily in Ottawa-based. Initially, it had only 300 employees. As Shopify’s existing Toronto office was smaller as compared to Jet Cooper’s 25-person team, they decided to move into the latter’s office. Kanwar played an important role in establishing Shopify’s research and development department in the city. Since the merger, Kanwar has served a variety of roles at the e-commerce giant. He even helped Shopify acquire other firms such as Toronto-based mobile studio Tiny Hearts.
After working as Shopify’s director of operations in Toronto for a year, Kanwar served as director of product for around two-and-a-half years. It was during this time when Shopify went public on New York Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange after raising $131 million USD at a $1.27 billion valuation.
After that, Kanwar briefly held the position of VP of product before shifting to serve as general manager and VP of product for channels for almost three years. During his tenure, his responsibilities include managing Shopify offerings, ranging from online store, multi-channel platform, checkout, product partnerships, retail point-of-sale, and email and marketing. He even contributed in helping the company strengthen its relationships with Google and Facebook.
In November 2020, Kanwar was given the position of VP of corporate development and head of product acceleration. He took responsibility for the firm’s merger and acquisition, investment along with product alliance efforts. During this tenure, Shopify made strategic investments in companies like Loop, artificial intelligence startup Crossing Minds, logistics firm Flexport, and marketing automation software firm Klaviyo. The e-commerce giant also acquired fulfillment company Deliverr, which it sold later, influencer marketing startup Dovetale and web framework provider Remix.
Kanwar’s ‘Good Future’ With Wife Arati
Besides his responsibilities in Shopify, Kanwar also became an angel investor in his own capabilities, backing venture funds like Roach Capital and tech companies such as Disco. He also launched a family office named Good Future with his wife, Arati Sharma, who was also a Jet Cooper employee.
Arati, too, is a Shopify ex-executive and an entrepreneur. She has a ghee-based lip care product, Ghlee, which she launched in Toronto. Sharma worked for seven years at Shopify from 2013 to 2021 and meanwhile launched Ghlee in November 2019. “We’re a modern-day beauty brand aimed at keeping our ancestors close. Rooted in tradition and guided by intention, our mission is to create effective solutions with a simple ingredient list,” the brand mentions on its website. The skincare brand aims at crafting skin care that “ancestors would be proud of”.
Sharma started in Shopify as a community development manager and went on to become Director of Marketing, Offline & Experiential. At the time when she quit the company, she was serving as Director of Product Marketing. “Though I’ve had the opportunity to build from scratch inside of Shopify, being in the founder seat is a whole new ballgame,” she said as quoted by techcrunch.com. At Shopify, she observed, “how culture and commerce intersect so deeply.” She also said that “whether you join [Shopify] as a former founder or you catch the entrepreneurial bug while working there, it’s remarkable how many employees run their own businesses.”
Changes in Top Leadership at Shopify
Kanwar’s exit is the latest in the list of executive changes at Shopify post-pandemic. After COVID-19 restrictions got lifted globally, Shopify aimed at revamping its leadership. In September 2022, the Ottawa-based e-commerce platform replaced its Chief Financial Officer, Amy Shapero with long-time investment banker Jeff Hoffmeister. Meanwhile, Vice-President of Product, Kaz Nejatian will now double up as Chief Operating Officer. Toby Shannan, COO was retiring after 12 years with Shopify. Nejatian while undertaking the new position will continue to serve as VP of Product. He led the development and delivery of Shopify Capital and Shop Pay.
Commenting on the addition of Hoffmeister to the senior executives, Tobi Lütke, Founder & CEO of Shopify had said, “As we position Shopify for the future, the addition of Jeff to our leadership team will continue to strengthen our ability to deliver value for our merchants, partners and investors. We are fortunate to benefit from his more than 20 years of investment banking experience in the technology sector, and his keen vision of the future of the industry”.
E-commerce demand skyrocketed during the pandemic but after COVID-19 tailwinds subsided, consumers went back to physical shopping. Hence, Shopify stock plummeted and as a result, there were multiple layoffs, slowed hiring, employee compensation restructured and changes in leadership.
