Tobias Lütke

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Tobias Lütke

MSC
NYC-Commerce-Tobi-Lütki-561.jpg
Born (1981-07-16) July 16, 1981 (age 41)
Koblenz, West Germany
Nationality
  • Canadian
  • German
[1]
OccupationCEO of Shopify
SpouseFiona McKean
Children3
Websitetobi.lutke.com

Tobias "Tobi" Lütke MSC is a German billionaire and the founder and CEO of Shopify, an e-commerce company based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.[2][3][4][5][6] He has been part of the core team of the Ruby on Rails framework and has created open source libraries such as Active Merchant.[7] As of 2022 he was the 11th richest Canadian.[8]

Early life[edit]

Lütke was born in Koblenz, Germany in 1981.[9] He received a Schneider CPC (German brand of the Amstrad Colour Personal Computer distributed by the Schneider Rundfunkwerke AG) from his parents at the age of six.[10][11] By 11 or 12, he began rewriting the code of the games he played and modifying computer hardware as a hobby. Lütke dropped out of school and entered an apprenticeship program at the Koblenzer Carl-Benz-School to become a computer programmer after tenth grade.[12][13] He moved from Germany to Canada in 2002.[10][12]

Lütke cites John Carmack's .plan-files from the mid-1990's as "making a huge impression"[14] on him as a teenager and calls them a "a master class in systems design".[15]

Career[edit]

In 2004, Lütke, along with his partners, Daniel Weinand and Scott Lake, launched Snowdevil, an online snowboard shop.[4][16][17] Lütke built a new e-commerce platform for the site, using Ruby on Rails.[18][13][19] Soon after, the Snowdevil founders shifted their focus from snowboards to e-commerce and launched Shopify in 2006.[20][21][22] He currently owns 7% of Shopify, which went public in 2015.[23] Despite controlling a minority of the shares outstanding, he controls a 40% voting interest in Shopify due to a two-class voting structure.[24]

The Globe and Mail named Lütke "CEO of the Year" in November 2014.[25][26] Lütke was presented with the Meritorious Service Cross on November 5, 2018, for his work in supporting the growth of the Canadian technology industry.[27] In 2019, Lütke donated $1,000,001 to Team Trees, the biggest donation as of May 10, 2023, with the message, "For the Lorax".[28] In 2021, Lütke donated $1,200,001 to Team Seas, the 4th biggest donation as of May 10, 2023, with the message "For the Lorax... but wet.".[29]

On September 8, 2021, it was announced that Lütke, along with former and current Shopify top executives and Celtic House Venture Partners, invested $3 million in Creative Layer, "a global personalized print-on-demand platform for managing Shopify orders, proofs, fulfillment, and team members".[30]

On January 31, 2022, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced Lütke would join its board of directors.[31]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Tobias Lütke [@tobi] (January 26, 2022). "Got my German citizenship back today Feeling incredibly grateful to be part of two such inspiring nations" (Tweet). Archived from the original on January 26, 2022 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ "Episode: 375: Tobias Lutke - Founder & CEO of Shopify". August 6, 2013. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  3. ^ "First family of Shopify to restore Opinicon resort". January 28, 2015. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Fluke and luck: Shopify's co-founder profited from both". October 5, 2012. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  5. ^ "Founder to CEO: Tobias Lutke, Shopify". June 7, 2013.
  6. ^ "THE CASE FOR SWAGGER: CANADIANS HAVE A LOT TO BE PROUD OF". May 22, 2018. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  7. ^ "Tobias Lutke, CEO, Shopify at Business of Software 2011". May 23, 2012. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  8. ^ "Falling fortune: Shopify co-founder Tobi Lütke drops from second to 11th on Canada's rich list – Ottawa Business Journal". April 20, 2022. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  9. ^ "Schulversager, Programmier-Genie, Milliardär". September 7, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  10. ^ a b "Our Canadian CEO of the year you've probably never heard of". November 27, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  11. ^ "Ich war ein miserabler Schüler". November 30, 2017. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  12. ^ a b "Shopify: Koblenzer revolutioniert Onlineshops". May 2, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  13. ^ a b "Against the Grain" (PDF). Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  14. ^ @tobi (February 11, 2021). "Had occasion to remember this series of articles by @ID_AA_Carmack from (I think?) August 1996 that ended up making a huge impression on me as a kid" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  15. ^ @tobi (February 11, 2021). "The post are fun. Not only is it a master class in systems design it's also so... driven?" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. ^ "Q&A with Tobias Lütke of Shopify". June 3, 2010. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  17. ^ "Finding Business Motivation in Industry Leaders". January 10, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  18. ^ "Shopify picks up $7M in venture funding". December 13, 2010. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  19. ^ "Top 5 Keys to Shopify's Success – an Interview with Tobias Lutke". December 22, 2010. Archived from the original on May 2, 2015. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  20. ^ "FASTEST GROWING COMPANIES: #1 - Shopify". May 3, 2010. Archived from the original on May 6, 2010. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  21. ^ "Zwei Deutsche mischen Kanadas Gründerszene auf". May 12, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  22. ^ "Shopify auf der Überholspur". February 10, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  23. ^ "Tobi Lutke". Forbes. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  24. ^ "Shopify shareholders approve founder's share for Tobi Lütke in preliminary tally". financialpost. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  25. ^ "Shopify's Tobias Lutke Crowned CEO of 2014". November 27, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  26. ^ Knowlton Thomas (November 27, 2014). "Tobias Lutke Crowned CEO of 2014". Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  27. ^ Office of the Secretary to the Governor General (November 1, 2018). "Governor General to Honour Remarkable Canadians at Rideau Hall". The Governor General of Canada. Retrieved December 12, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  28. ^ "Team Trees Official Website". #teamtrees. Retrieved September 20, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  29. ^ "Help us remove 30 million pounds of trash by January 1, 2022 - Join #TeamSeas". www.teamseas.org. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  30. ^ "Creative Layer Receives $3 Million Investment from Tobi Lütke, Celtic House Venture Partners & Other Notable Investors". financialpost. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  31. ^ "Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke to join board at cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase". CBC. The Canadian Press. January 31, 2022. Archived from the original on January 31, 2022.
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