Kruti Patel Goyal is Chief Executive Officer of Etsy. She has spent more than a decade helping shape Etsy's growth, bringing deep experience across product, engineering, strategy, operations, trust and safety, and marketing.
Before becoming CEO, Kruti served as Etsy's President and Chief Growth Officer, during which time she led the teams responsible for creating a seamless experience for millions of Etsy buyers and sellers.
From 2022 to 2025, Kruti served as CEO of Depop, an Etsy subsidiary. There, she sharpened the company's marketplace strategy, accelerated growth, and strengthened Depop's position as the fastest-growing online apparel resale marketplace in the United States.
Earlier in her career at Etsy, Kruti served as Chief Product Officer and held leadership roles spanning Seller Services, Corporate Development, International Growth, and the company's first Trust & Safety organization. Before joining Etsy, she held strategy and business development roles at Viacom and Product (RED), and began her career in mergers and acquisitions at Morgan Stanley and General Atlantic.
There's a line from Steve Jobs' Stanford commencement speech about how you can only connect the dots looking backward. That resonates with me because I never viewed any role as preparation for becoming CEO. I was focused on learning and contributing wherever I could.
Looking back, though, I can see how each experience taught me something different. Early in my career, I helped build Etsy's Trust & Safety team. There's no better way to understand a marketplace than to see it through the eyes of customers when something goes wrong. It gave me a deep appreciation for the customer experience and the responsibility we have to both buyers and sellers.
Years later, leading Depop gave me the opportunity to bring everything together. After working across different functions, I was suddenly responsible for the entire business - from the customer experience to the employee experience. It taught me how all the pieces fit together and prepared me to lead at a company-wide level.
One thing I think larger companies can learn from small business owners is to stay as close to their customers as possible. I recently asked a group of Etsy sellers where they get inspiration for new products, and all of them said their customers. A conversation with a buyer, a custom request, or a new need often sparks their next idea.
That kind of feedback loop is incredibly powerful. As companies grow, it's important to keep listening with the same curiosity and responsiveness because that's often where innovation begins.
It’s forever a work in progress. Every stage of leadership stretches you in new ways, and I'm still learning every day.
I've learned how important it is to surround myself with people I trust—people who will challenge me, give me honest feedback, and create a space where I can be completely myself. Those relationships have given me the confidence to lead in a way that feels authentic rather than trying to fit someone else's idea of what a CEO should be. I think when leaders show up with that kind of authenticity, it creates space for others across the company to do the same.
I don't think there's a secret, but I do think it helps to believe deeply in what you're building. I didn’t aspire to be the CEO of just any company. I wanted to lead Depop and now Etsy because I believe in their missions and the people they serve. That conviction gives you resilience when the work gets hard and helps you navigate the difficult decisions every leader has to make.
Just as important is curiosity. The moment you think you have all the answers is probably the moment you stop growing. Staying curious about your customers, your colleagues, and the world around you helps you keep learning and becoming a better leader.
It's hard to pick just one because there are so many women I admire for different reasons. Women like Reshma Saujani and Padma Lakshmi have been incredible advocates and role models - not only for the South Asian community, but for anyone who believes in using their platform to create opportunity, challenge the status quo, and lead with conviction.
I'm also inspired every day by the women entrepreneurs who build businesses on Etsy. Many are balancing families, other jobs, and countless responsibilities while pursuing their creativity and building something of their own. Their resilience, ingenuity, and determination are a constant reminder that leadership takes many forms.
I’ll give you two:
A good cup of tea. It's a small ritual, but it's also a pause. Some of my best conversations, and some of my clearest thinking, happen over tea.
A sense of perspective. Family is what gives me that. No matter what's happening at work, spending time with the people I love reminds me what matters most.
One trend I'm excited about is the return to analog. More people are carving out time to make things with their hands because they're looking for creativity and a sense of accomplishment. I particularly love the “analog bag” trend where people keep their favorite analog activities in one place.
What's so powerful is that creativity doesn't just produce beautiful objects. It builds community too. People learn from one another, share ideas, and form real connections through the act of making. As our lives become increasingly digital, I think those moments of human connection will only become more valuable.
Brené Brown's work has had a real impact on how I think about leadership. Her writing on courage, vulnerability, and trust reinforced my belief that you don't have to choose between being authentic and being an effective leader. I also love Ted Lasso for the same reason. That show reminds us that kindness, optimism, and empathy are strengths, not weaknesses.
And lately, some of the stories that have meant the most to me are the classics I've been rereading with my daughter, like Anne of Green Gables and Little Women. It's been so much fun to experience them through her eyes and be reminded that the best stories endure because they capture something timeless about resilience, kindness, and ambition.
