Josh Silverman

Josh Silverman is a technology executive and product-driven leader known for leading major transformations at Skype and Etsy. With a career spanning more than three decades across consumer technology, payments, and digital marketplaces, he has navigated macroeconomic cycles, regulatory scrutiny, and shifting consumer behavior while repeatedly delivering world-class long-term value creation in the face of adversity.

Silverman has spent much of his career transforming companies with a focus on innovation, strategic clarity and operational excellence. He became CEO of Skype in May 2008 amid rapidly decelerating growth and a >50% write-down in its value (from $2.7B to $1.3B). Silverman pivoted the company's focus from voice to video, pioneering the mainstream adoption of video-calling worldwide. During his 2 1/2 year tenure, Skype added more than 300 million users; grew from 8% to 25% of the world's international calling minutes; and was the 2nd-fastest growing brand by value during the 2008-2010 period. Revenues doubled and profits tripled. Skype was subsequently acquired by Microsoft for $8.5B. In recognition of his contributions, TechCrunch nominated Silverman as first runner-up for "CEO of the Year" in 2010.

Building on this record of recognized leadership, Silverman was appointed CEO of Etsy in 2017 when the company was facing slowing growth, rising costs, activist campaigns and investor backlash. Josh brought operational focus and strategic clarity to the business, investing in cutting-edge AI to power substantial improvements to search and discovery, award-winning marketing programs which improved brand awareness, and launched programs to enhance trust and safety. Cutting-edge AI remains critical to Etsy today, powering some of its most central systems, including search and recommendations across a catalog of more than 100 million one-of-a-kind listings.

During his eight year tenure as CEO, Etsy became the 4th most popular eCommerce marketplace in both the US and UK; providing economic opportunity for more than 6 million creators/sellers. The number of shoppers more than tripled, Gross Merchandise Sales grew fourfold, revenue grew nearly eightfold and Etsy's share price appreciated by more than seven times. After stepping down as CEO on Dec 31, 2025, Silverman became Etsy's Executive Chairman. He also advises a range of leading AI-native companies.

Before leading Etsy, Silverman served from 2011 - 2015 as President of Consumer Products and Services at American Express, where he had responsibility for the US consumer cards and global consumer travel, with over 20,000 employees and $13B in revenue. During his tenure, he transformed the company's product and marketing capabilities to become world-class at leveraging big data and digital marketing. He refreshed the product line, expanding the brand beyond its traditional base to appeal to middle-income women through products such as Amex Everyday, while creating iconic experiences such as the Centurion Lounge network. During his four-year tenure, both revenue and profit growth far outpaced the industry, the only major US credit card issuer to grow both revenue and profit simultaneously over this period.

In his roles at Etsy, Amex and Skype, Silverman has played an active and influential role advising lawmakers and regulators at the most senior levels in both the US and EU; consulting on issues such as tech innovation policy, privacy, cybersecurity, AI, trade, competition and sustainability. He is a frequent guest on media outlets such as CNBC, CNN, Bloomberg and Fox Business, where he provides commentary on trends shaping the e-commerce economy, consumer behavior, and the evolving needs of small business. He is regularly featured in both long- and short-form interviews with leading publications including Fortune, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.

Silverman is also a regular guest lecturer at Harvard Business School, Stanford University, and Brown University and was honored to deliver the 2025 commencement address at Pace University. In addition to Etsy, he serves on the Board of Instacart and as a member of the Stanford University Board of Trustees.

Technology should simplify human connection, a principle Silverman first realized through the creation of Evite, where he was co-founder and CEO. An early pioneer in online social coordination, Evite has sent billions of event invitations since its inception in 1998, defined a vocabulary for event organizing (becoming a verb in its own right), and has won countless awards, including the prestigious Webby award for Best Online Service (twice). Evite was acquired by IAC in 2001. He later joined eBay, where he held a series of senior leadership roles in Europe, including Manager of eBay Netherlands and Vice President of New Ventures. During this period, he played a key role in eBay's expansion beyond auctions into local marketplaces including the acquisition of Marktplaats and the company's broader investment in classified platforms such as Gumtree. These companies helped form the foundation for eBay Classifieds Group, which was sold to Adevinta for $9.2 billion in 2020. In 2006, Silverman became CEO of Shopping.com, a comparison shopping engine owned by eBay, where he helped grow the platform and expand its international presence.

He currently serves on the executive boards of the Partnership for New York City and TechNet. He was the founding chairman of the non-profit Code Nation, which brought computer science into deeply under-resourced schools, providing thousands of students with access to computer science education. He has previously served on the Board of Lincoln Center Theater, and the Management Board of the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Silverman was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum; and is an Aspen Institute Henry Crown Fellow.

Josh is available for fireside chats and moderated conversations with executive, investor, retail, and technology audiences.

Signature Conversations

Running a Company That Couldn't Work Without AI: Lessons from Etsy. How a marketplace with 100 million unique listings built search, recommendations, and seller tools on machine learning, what worked, what didn't, and what every consumer business should take from it.

The Vital Few: Turning Around a Public Company Through Focus. The prioritization playbook behind Etsy's turnaround, from the first 90 days under activist pressure to tripling the buyer base.

Marketplaces, Trust, and the Future of Commerce in the Age of AI. How AI is changing consumer attention, discovery, and trust, and how marketplaces should handle AI-generated goods, personalization, and the human side of commerce.

Leadership Lessons from Evite, Skype, American Express, and Etsy. What four very different companies taught him about building teams, making hard calls, and leading through change.