Lightspeed has promoted JD St-Martin to president, which the company said will be an expansion of his current role as chief revenue officer.
St-Martin’s appointment represents the latest major leadership change triggered by the departure of its founding CEO Dax Dasilva. In February of this year, Dasilva stepped down to become executive chair, while JP Chauvet, who had been Lightspeed’s president since 2016, was tapped to become CEO.
In promoting St-Martin as his successor, CEO and previous president JP Chauvet said that it will help to further streamline Lightspeed’s executive team.
In March, Lightspeed appointed CFO Brandon Nussey to the newly created role of COO, Asha Bakshani as CFO, and Rani Hammond as chief people officer. Earlier this month, Lightspeed also hired Google veteran and former executive Ryan Tabone as chief product and technology officer.
When Lightspeed announced that Dasilva was out as CEO, the company’s share price had dropped more than 75 percent from its peak in September 2021, following short-seller attacks, low revenue guidance, and general tech stock malaise. This most recent change in leadership hasn’t improved Lightspeed’s share price, however. At press time, Lightspeed is currently trading at $24.54, representing a nearly 40 percent decline from its February price point.
Prior to leading Lightspeed as president, Chauvet served as a board member and chief revenue officer. He has been integral in advancing Lightspeed’s mission throughout his tenure, including leading many of the company’s strategic acquisitions, its listings on the Toronto Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange. He also led the launch and growth of the Lightspeed Payments platform.
In promoting St-Martin as his successor, Chauvet said that it will help to further streamline Lightspeed’s executive team, placing the accountability for the performance of all of its verticals with the same person who is responsible for the company’s “go-to-market and customer success.”
RELATED: Founder Dax Dasilva out as Lightspeed CEO
A spokesperson for Lightspeed told BetaKit that the company decided not to conduct an external search for a new president. “We believe we have the right strength of leadership internally … We felt it was the logical step for our organization to increase [St-Martin’s] mandate to include the responsibilities of our previous CBO.”
St-Martin joined Lightspeed in 2018 through Lightspeed’s acquisition of Chronogolf, a SaaS company he co-founded in 2013. In 2020, he became Lightspeed’s senior vice president of global sales.
Prior to founding Chronogold, St-Martin worked in venture capital and private equity at Montréal-based Teralys Capital and United Kingdom firm GE Equity.
Within this executive switch-up at Lightspeed, chief business officer Michael DeSimone will be departing at the end of this year. DeSimone joined Lightspeed in 2020 through its acquisition of ShopKeep, where DeSimone was CEO. Lightspeed said that during his time at the company, DeSimone led the successful integration of several acquired companies.
As part of the ShopKeep acquisition, a Lightspeed spokesperson told BetaKit that DeSimone agreed to stay on for a two-year term to assist Lightspeed in executing its M&A strategy and other strategic initiatives. “His departure marks the end of that commitment to Lightspeed and he has decided to pursue other ambitions,” the spokesperson said.
Featured image courtesy of Lightspeed.