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.