Josh Silverman
Josh Silverman | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Silverman in 2024 | |
| Born | January 14, 1969 |
| Education | |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
Joshua Gordon Silverman (born January 14, 1969)[1] is an American entrepreneur and technology executive known for his role as chief executive officer of Etsy (2017–2025). He is also known for co-founding the invitation website Evite and being CEO of Skype (2008–10) and shopping.com (2006–08).
Early life and education
[edit]Silverman grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he attended Community High School. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in public policy from Brown University in 1991, after which he spent two years working for New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley.[2] In 1995 he enrolled at the Stanford Graduate School of Business; he earned his MBA from Stanford in 1997.
Career
[edit]In November 1998, Silverman quit his job at ADAC Laboratories[3] to work full time on building what would become Evite.[2][4] Evite was acquired by Barry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp in 2001. In 2006, Silverman became CEO of Shopping.com, a comparison-shopping engine owned by eBay.[5] In February 2008, he was named CEO of Skype.[6] He left Skype in 2010 and joined Greylock Partners as an executive-in-residence, before moving on to an executive role as President of Consumer Products and Services at American Express.[7][8]
Silverman joined the board of Etsy in November, 2016. After an activist investor took a stake in the company and called for it sale, Etsy's board ousted longtime CEO Chad Dickerson and installed Silverman as chief executive officer in May, 2017.[8][9] He stepped down as CEO in December, 2025 but remains on Etsy's board of directors[10].
Personal life
[edit]Silverman is married and has two children.[1] Silverman is a multi-millionaire. [11]
References
[edit]- 1 2 Arlidge, John (October 13, 2019). "Interview: Etsy boss Josh Silverman has the craft to take on Amazon". The Sunday Times.
- 1 2 Ellin, Abby (2009-09-26). "Learning in Business by Following the Heart". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
- ↑ Gimein, Mark (1999-09-22). "Cool rules". Salon. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
- ↑ Canabou, Christine (2000-04-30). "Josh Silverman". Fast Company. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
- ↑ "President of EBay's PayPal Quits, Triggering Anxiety". Los Angeles Times. 2006-07-07. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
- ↑ "EBay names Shopping.com's Silverman to lead Skype". The Mercury News. 2008-02-26. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
- ↑ Rubenfire, Adam (February 13, 2011). "Former Skype CEO stresses entrepreneurial leadership". The Michigan Daily.
- 1 2 Gelles, David (2017-11-25). "Inside the Revolution at Etsy". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
- ↑ Safdar, Khadeeja (2017-05-02). "Etsy Replaces Its CEO After Swinging to a Loss". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
- ↑ "Etsy Announces Leadership Transition: Kruti Patel Goyal to become Chief Executive Officer, Josh Silverman Transitions to Executive Chair, effective January 1, 2026". Etsy, Inc. 2025-10-29. Retrieved 2026-02-12.
- ↑ Scott, Charity L. (2022-04-12). "Etsy CEO Josh Silverman Stands by Strategy of Competing With Amazon". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2026-06-26.
