Lightspeed President JP Chauvet Appointed Chief Executive Officer; Founder Dax Dasilva to Serve as Executive Chair
Lightspeed Commerce Inc. (TSX: LSPD) (NYSE: LSPD), the one-stop commerce platform for merchants around the world to simplify, scale and create exceptional customer experiences, today announced that as part of its long-term succession planning process, the Lightspeed board of directors has appointed current President JP Chauvet to the role of Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. He will lead Lightspeed’s continued growth, strategic development and execution.
The Company also announced that Founder and outgoing CEO Dax Dasilva will continue to serve Lightspeed as Executive Chair of Lightspeed’s board of directors. As Executive Chair, Dasilva will work with Chauvet and the Board to set the strategic direction of the Company, with a focus on furthering Lightspeed’s business advocacy and global sustainability initiatives through stakeholder outreach, customer advocacy, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. In connection with this transition, Patrick Pichette, current Chair, will become the Board’s Lead Independent Director.
Chauvet joined Lightspeed in October 2012 as Chief Revenue Officer and became a board member in September 2013. In April 2016, he was named President and throughout his tenure has been integral to advancing Lightspeed’s mission, including leading many of the Company’s strategic acquisitions, its listings on the Toronto Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange, and leading the launch and growth of the Lightspeed Payments platform. Chauvet has also overseen the Company’s robust customer growth worldwide.
“In his nine years at Lightspeed, JP has proven his strategic acumen, pioneered our go-to-market strategy, led our product teams, and played a critical role in launching Lightspeed Payments,” said Dasilva. “We are fortunate to continue benefiting from his leadership, expertise and dedication as Lightspeed builds on its momentum in a large and evolving market. It has been an honor for me to lead the talented Lightspeed team since founding the Company in 2005 and I look forward to leading in my new capacity of Executive Chair.”
Said Chauvet: “I would like to thank Dax for setting Lightspeed on its impressive growth trajectory, and both him and the Board for entrusting me with the responsibility of leading Lightspeed as CEO. As Lightspeed accelerates its One Lightspeed integration efforts – bringing the most innovative companies in the digital commerce space together under a shared goal to drive merchant value – we will advance our efforts to become the leading global omnichannel platform. I’m committed to executing the next step of our journey, including the expansion of our global footprint through our retail and hospitality flagship products, and redefining how our customers do business.”
“As a Board, we have regularly discussed succession planning over the last several years,” said Pichette. “JP has an outstanding track record in multiple leadership positions at Lightspeed, and the Board is confident he is the natural choice to continue the important work underway across the organization and drive sustained value for all customers and shareholders. Meanwhile, the Board also looks forward to supporting Dax in his new role as we advance the Board’s corporate and sustainability goals, including maintaining Lightspeed’s position as an employer of choice for top talent, a global driver of positive impact and the leading technology partner for businesses everywhere.”
Third Quarter Fiscal 2022 Earnings
In a separate release today, Lightspeed will report its third quarter fiscal 2022 financial results and host a conference call and webcast tomorrow, February 3rd, 2022 at 8:00 am ET to discuss the results and today’s announcement.
