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  • Exec Changes At Etsy: Adam Freed Steps Down From COO Role

    Colleen Taylor

    Colleen Taylor is based in San Francisco where she is a reporter for TechCrunch and TechCrunch TV. Previously she worked as a reporter for GigaOM, the Financial Times’ Mergermarket newswire, and the semiconductor industry newsletter Electronic News. Disclosure: Colleen holds a small amount of shares in AOL, which were awarded as part of her employment contract with TechCrunch. She personally... → Learn More

    Thursday, September 20th, 2012
    Screen shot 2012-09-20 at 2.30.59 PM

    Adam Freed, who was appointed chief operating officer at Etsy just over a year ago in August 2011, has stepped down from the COO role at the online crafts marketplace.

    News of the change first came to us through sources familiar with the company, who indicated that Freed would be departing Etsy altogether. However, when reached via email, an Etsy representative confirmed that while Freed will indeed no longer serve as COO, he will remain a member of Etsy’s leadership team as “an advisor to Chad [Dickerson, Etsy's CEO].” The change occurred this morning.

    We’ve reached out for more information, such as if Freed’s advisory role will be a full-time job, and whether Etsy will be looking for a replacement in the COO spot. This post will be updated with any additional details we receive.

    Freed joined Etsy from Google, where he had worked since 2002 in a variety of high-profile roles, most recently as a director of policy and global consumer operations.

    This is not the first C-level shift at Etsy in its recent history. Chad Dickerson was Etsy’s CTO until he took over the CEO role in July 2011 from Rob Kalin, who co-founded the company back in 2005.