Etsy Names Rafe Colburn As New Chief Technology Officer
Etsy has announced more executive changes to fill gaps left by departures at the end of 2024, naming Rafe Colburn as Etsy's new Chief Technology Officer.
A company press release revealed Colburn, who is currently Chief Technology & Product Officer at Etsy-owned Depop, has been moved up to take the CTO position at Etsy after Rachana Kumar announced her transition out of the company in December.
BROOKLYN, N.Y., March 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Etsy, Inc. (NASDAQ: ETSY), which operates two-sided online marketplaces that connect millions of passionate and creative buyers and sellers around the world, today announced the appointment of Rafe Colburn as Chief Technology Officer (CTO), effective May 5, 2025.
Colburn brings a wealth of technology leadership experience to the role. He currently serves as Chief Technology & Product Officer at Depop, where he has successfully scaled the technology team to support rapid growth and transformed the customer experience to one that is more app-based and discovery-centric.
Prior to Depop, Colburn spent nearly 10 years at Etsy, where he led engineering teams during periods of significant growth and transformation across a wide range of critical areas, including ads, marketing technology, seller experience, trust & safety, localization and translation, and customer support.
"The magic of Etsy lies in our ability to leverage technology to forge meaningful human connections," said Josh Silverman, Chief Executive Officer of Etsy. "During his time at both Depop and Etsy, Rafe has proven he can set a technical strategy that enables us to scale our impact and connect more buyers with our global community of sellers. He has a clear vision for creating shopping experiences that are highly differentiated, personalized, and relevant. I am thrilled to officially welcome Rafe to Etsy's executive leadership team as we work to reignite growth and solidify Etsy as the starting point for special."
"I'm honored to take on this role and work alongside Etsy's talented team," said Rafe Colburn. "The technology landscape is particularly dynamic right now; AI is maturing at a rapid pace, presenting an incredible opportunity for us to transform the shopping experience, engage with buyers in more meaningful ways, and create more economic opportunities for our sellers."
Colburn will be based out of Etsy's Brooklyn, NY headquarters. He will report to Etsy's CEO Josh Silverman and be part of Etsy's Executive Team.
Peter Semple has also been appointed interim CEO of Depop. Semple currently serves as Chief Marketing Officer of Depop and has been with the brand since 2019.
As previously announced, Depop's current CEO, Kruti Patel Goyal, is transitioning to the role of President and Chief Growth Officer at Etsy. Semple will lead Depop on an interim basis until the company identifies its next leader
Liz Morton
The consolidation and shuffling of talent from subsidiaries comes at a time when Etsy continues to struggle with lagging Active Buyer and Gross Merchandise Sales stats, which have reached such a degree that analysts from Piper Sandler have recently begun musing about the possibilities of a merger with eBay.
Liz Morton
As many of the items I sell are £10 or less, this makes it not worth the bother and I'll probably have to give it away to the charity shop.
Add that to the "buyer protection" fee they've added on - and the costs are making it untenable for people trying to clear the house, or make a few bob from old bits and pieces. Not happy at all and there doesn't seem to be a way of opting out.
The sooner these sleazebags at the top can be got rid of, or some community-run buy/sell/swap sites come up - the better. We don't need ebay.