Dive Brief:
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Depop CEO Maria Raga has resigned, and owner Etsy’s Chief Product Officer Kruti Patel Goyal will take her place on Sept. 12, Etsy announced on Wednesday. Goyal has held a range of leadership roles at Etsy over the past 11 years, according to a company press release.
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Raga, who led the apparel resale marketplace for eight years — most of its existence — is leaving to take a break and spend more time with her family, she said in a LinkedIn post on Wednesday. She will stay on until Sept. 30 to help with the transition.
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Nick Daniel, Etsy's vice president of product management and an 8-year company veteran, will take over Goyal’s role.
Dive Insight:
When Etsy bought Depop for $1.6 billion a year ago, the company said it would remain headquartered in London and continue operating as a stand-alone marketplace run by its existing leadership.
Now Raga is joining the legion of chief executives heading out the door in recent months. So far this year, 774 CEOs have left, up 20% over the same period last year and up 6% from the previous high in 2006, according to a report Wednesday from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. That’s the highest total for the first six months of the year since the firm began tracking monthly CEO turnover two decades ago.
Ties between the two marketplaces may deepen as Goyal takes over. But key aspects of Depop’s operations are staying put, as Goyal will relocate to London and work with the same team that has been reporting to Raga.
Before serving as chief product officer, Goyal held multiple other roles, including at various times leading Etsy's seller services, corporate development, international and marketplace integrity teams, per the release. In London, she will be overseeing a growth strategy for the resale site, which has become a Gen Z favorite.
However, Depop isn’t profitable and as such is a drag on the company’s bottom-line consolidated margins, Etsy Chief Financial Officer Rachel Glaser told analysts in May, per a Seeking Alpha earnings call transcript. In a statement on Wednesday, Etsy CEO Josh Silverman said that it’s still early days for Depop’s growth.
“I have no doubt Kruti is the right leader for Depop's next chapter as we focus on nurturing its passionate community and improving the customer experience,” Silverman said. “She has guided Etsy through periods of significant transformation, with a proven track record of motivating teams to deliver results and advance our mission.”
