US-based online marketplace Etsy has appointed Rafe Colburn as chief technology officer.

Founded in 2005 and based in Brooklyn, New York, Etsy is a global online marketplace which sells unique, handmade, vintage and customised items including jewellery, clothing, home décor, arts and crafts.

Colburn is currently chief technology and product officer at London-based e-commerce company Depop, where he is responsible for the company's product and design arm.

His tasks include driving Depop's end-to-end user experience vision and building the company’s product organisation.

Initially joining the firm as chief product officer in 2021, he was eventually promoted to chief product and technology officer in 2023.

Previously, he spent nearly a decade at Etsy, joining the firm in 2012 as head of engineering and holding a series of senior positions, including senior director of engineering, until his appointment as vice president of engineering in 2019.

During this time, he led engineering teams in periods of growth and transformation across a wide range of areas, including ads, marketing technology, vendor experience, trust and security, localisation and translation, and customer service.

Earlier in his career, Colburn was a principal engineer at IDology and worked as a consultant at several companies building custom applications.

In his new position, beginning on 5 May, Colburn will be based at Etsy's New York headquarters and will report to Etsy chief executive Josh Silverman as part of the Etsy executive team.

Silverman said that Colburn’s technical strategic skills will be help Etsy continue to scale and connect more buyers with its global community of sellers. 

“Colburn has a clear vision for creating shopping experiences that are highly differentiated, personalised, and relevant,” he added.

---