Shopify shuffles top ranks as chief product officer departs; Harley Finkelstein to become president

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Shopify Inc. said Tuesday it was shuffling its leadership ranks as its chief product officer Craig Miller departs the Ottawa software giant.

Chief executive officer Tobias Lutke said in a letter on the company’s website that he would assume Mr. Miller’s role after the executive’s departure on Friday. In addition, he said Harley Finkelstein will move from chief operating officer to president, while chief support officer Toby Shannan – another early Shopify employee – assumes Mr. Finkelstein’s old job.

“Shopify comes with a warning label on the box: ‘Thrive on change’ is our most important cultural value in 2020," Mr. Lutke wrote. "The best systems and organizations in the world aren’t just robust, they actively embrace disruption because it makes them better. This is what we trained for. This is how we rise to the next challenge.”

Shopify, which provides an online commerce platform for more than one million merchants globally, became Canada’s most valuable company this year by stock market valuation, surpassing Royal Bank of Canada, as its stock soared during the pandemic. Shares of digital companies, particularly those in e-commerce and digital communications, have surged during the health crisis as homebound people around the world increasingly took to digital channels to work, stay in touch and shop.

Mr. Miller, 38, an engineer by training, is one of Canada’s most accomplished young software executives. Before joining Shopify in 2011 as chief marketing officer he worked for eBay Inc., joining the fledgling Kijiji online classifieds business as its fourth employee in 2006 before his promotion in 2009 to head of product.

“It’s been one of the privileges of my career to work alongside Craig," Mr. Lutke wrote. "[He] played a critical role in getting Shopify to where it is today.”

Mr. Miller posted on social media Tuesday that his time at Shopify “has been the ride of a lifetime, helping to grow a small startup into one of the most iconic tech companies of our time.” In an e-mail to the Globe Mr. Miller said, “I’m in no rush to figure out what’s next [in my career]."

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