Rachana Kumar is the Chief Technology Officer at Etsy, where she leads the company’s technology strategy to create economic empowerment for Etsy’s vibrant, global community. Over her eight-year tenure, Rachana has been instrumental in driving key initiatives that connect millions of buyers and sellers worldwide. She played a pivotal role in expanding Etsy’s mobile experience and led the company’s successful growth in Mexico, where she opened Etsy's office and built a team from the ground up.
Rachana’s leadership style is focused on empowering her team to innovate and think critically rather than being the most technical person in the room. She believes that successful leadership is about enabling others to shine, providing guidance, and helping teams collaborate to bring ideas to life. At Etsy, she oversees the development of cutting-edge technology that makes Etsy’s vast inventory of unique, handmade goods accessible to a global audience. Managing billions of data points every day, Rachana and her team use machine learning and data science to create a personalized shopping experience for Etsy’s buyers and sellers.
Rachana’s leadership at Etsy goes beyond driving innovation in e-commerce; she’s deeply committed to using technology as a force for good. As CTO, Rachana has spearheaded initiatives that not only drive Etsy’s global expansion but also empower creative entrepreneurs, especially women, to thrive. Her work at Etsy mirrors her broader mission to leverage technology for positive social impact, a passion that has fueled her past work with the UN and the Council on Foreign Relations. With a strong foundation in engineering and public administration, Rachana combines her technical expertise with a deep belief in technology’s potential to create economic empowerment, diversity, and inclusion. Despite lacking a female boss in her career, Kumar continues to advocate for empowering women in tech and creating spaces where individuals can bring their authentic selves to work.