Canva poaches former Zoom finance boss Kelly Steckelberg as IPO plans loom

WA-founded juggernaut Canva has poached former Zoom chief financial officer Kelly Steckelberg ahead of its long-awaited public listing in the US.

Ms Steckelberg’s appointment as Canva’s new chief financial officer comes after former finance boss Damien Singh abruptly left the tech company in February amid allegations of inappropriate behaviour.

Ms Steckelberg announced her resignation from Zoom in August after almost seven years in the role, during which she oversaw the company’s listing on the Nasdaq in April 2020.

Her first day at Canva is on November 26.

It comes after Canva last month revealed it was now worth more than Rio Tinto, Woodside Energy, Telstra and Woolworths after raising almost $10 billion through new investors.

Canva was launched from a Perth loungeroom in 2013 by Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht, and has since grown into a global behemoth that is now taking on $US230b giant Adobe.

Ms Steckelberg joins Canva as it recently hit a valuation of $US32 billion ($48.7b) — up from $US26b following a raising in April — after surpassing $2.5b in annualised revenue from 220 million monthly active users

“As we continue doubling down on empowering every team and workplace to communicate visually, we’re thrilled to also welcome Kelly to the team as our new chief financial officer,” Mr Obrecht said on Tuesday.

“Kelly’s impressive track record as a strong leader and strategic thinker, combined with her proven expertise in scaling enterprise companies, makes her the perfect addition to our leadership bench.”

Ms Steckelberg said she had been a long-time fan of Canva.

“I’ve been an admirer of the team, product and mission for a number of years now and I’m eager to have the opportunity to work alongside Melanie, Cliff, Cameron (Adams) and the team to continue empowering every person and organisation to achieve their goals,” she said.