In February, Canva’s former finance chief, Damien Singh, stepped down amid the company’s announcement of an internal investigation concerning inappropriate behaviour. Leading many to speculate that the IPO could be in jeopardy as Damien Singh was the major driving force behind the company’s push to go public.
However, some have criticized Canva CEO Melanie Perkins for using the investigation to slow down the process as she clings to power, knowing fully well that she will lose some control of the company when it goes public.
However, with the hire of former Zoom CFO Kelly Steckelberg, some of those criticisms have begun to quiet down. In 2019, Steckelberg played a pivotal role in taking Zoom public.
As the pandemic took hold in October 2020, the video-chat company experienced an astonishing surge in market capitalization, reaching over $160 billion as remote workers flocked to the platform. However, since then, Zoom’s value has plummeted by over 85%.
After seven impactful years with the company, Steckelberg announced her departure in August. Recently, former Microsoft executive Michelle Chang stepped in to succeed her as Zoom’s Chief Financial Officer.
“Canva expressed in an email, ‘Kelly’s remarkable history as a dynamic leader and strategic innovator, coupled with her tested experience in scaling enterprise firms, positions her as an ideal addition to our leadership team.’ Currently, Canva is on track to generate approximately $2.5 billion in annual revenue and serves 220 million monthly users. The company is increasingly recognized as a prime candidate for an initial public offering, particularly in light of a prolonged lull in new venture-backed tech listings since early 2022.”
This will no doubt put some fire back in the tank for the Canva team as they push to get to the finish line and ring the bell at the New York Stock Exchange when they go live. However, there is still much to get done, and with an almost 9-month gap since Singh resigned, that race to the top may still throw a few sharp turns at the end.
Source: CNBC