St. Maarten plans to return to its roots to support founders of early-stage Canadian tech companies.
J.D. St. Martin said he will step down as president of Montreal-based Lightspeed Commerce at the end of the fiscal year.
“We are deeply grateful to JD for the partnership and discipline he has instilled in our global operations.”
After six years at the e-commerce and point-of-sale technology firm, St. Maarten will leave on March 31 “to focus on mentoring and investing in early-stage founders in the Canadian tech ecosystem,” the company said. IN Post on LinkedInSt. Maarten said he had made the decision to leave and that “more is coming soon.”
“A new generation of entrepreneurs has emerged. [in Canada]“I want to help speed up this process,” St. Martin wrote.
Lightspeed announced a planned leadership change, as well as the appointment of Gabriel Benavidez as chief revenue officer (CRO), exactly one week after his profit for the second fiscal quarter report.
Saint-Martin joined Lightspeed in 2019 after purchasing the company Chronogolfsoftware company he co-founded in 2013. In 2020, he became Lightspeed's Senior Vice President of Global Sales, then CRO in 2021 and president in 2022, which Lightspeed says will be an expansion of the CRO role.
St. Maarten will remain until the end of the company's fiscal year to “ensure a smooth transition” when Benavidez takes over as CRO, the company said. Lightspeed told BetaKit that it is not currently looking to replace St. Maarten.
Benavides has experience as a CRO at market intelligence platforms Contentsquare and Medallia. Lightspeed claims Benavidez helped Medallia increase its annual revenue tenfold, eventually reaching a market valuation of $6 billion.
CONNECTED: Lightspeed raised full-year guidance, boosting fiscal second-quarter revenue
“JD’s leadership has laid the foundation for Lightspeed’s transformation; Gabriel’s appointment accelerates this trajectory,” Lightspeed CEO Dax DaSilva said in a statement. “We are deeply grateful to JD for the partnership and discipline he has instilled in our global operations.”
Founded in 2005, Lightspeed sells point-of-sale and retail software and hardware to restaurants, retailers and hospitality providers. Lightspeed raised its forecast for the remainder of its fiscal year after beating domestic revenue forecasts in its report. profit for the 2nd quarter report last week. Google Android head Samir Samat and veteran FinTech CEO Odilon Almeida joined Lightspeed in September. to its board of directors as the company fulfills its strategic transformation plan.
Lightspeed's shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “LSPD.” The company hit its $1 billion revenue goal this year, but its stock price is struggling to recapture its 2021 high. Its market capitalization is approximately C$2.5 billion.
Image courtesy of JD Saint-Martin via LinkedIn.
