Thank you, Evan!

Today Evan Sharp announced that he will be transitioning from his full-time role as Chief Design & Creative Officer into an advisory role focused on company strategy, product, design, brand and culture. He will continue to serve on our Board of Directors.

As our co-founder, Evan has played an invaluable part in building Pinterest and leading its evolution from a visual discovery engine to a global inspiration platform. In addition to designing and building the original Pinterest product, Evan has overseen our product strategy and user experience, including architecting our Shopping and Creator platforms, and has innovated countless ways of ensuring Pinterest realizes its ambition to be the most positive and inspiring place online.

Evan will be joining Jony Ive and the creative collective at LoveFrom. The team at Pinterest wishes Evan all the best and is grateful for his heart and work that helped to make Pinterest what it is today.

Notes from Co-founder and CEO Ben Silbermann and Co-founder Evan Sharp to Pinterest Employees: 

Hi Team, 

I write to share some bittersweet news: Evan will be stepping away from his day-to-day work at Pinterest. He will be starting an exciting new adventure outside the company (which I’ll let him tell you about!). Here at Pinterest, he will be transitioning into an advisory role and continue serving as a board member. So the good news is that he’s not going far away.

Still, this is the end of a chapter. In processing it, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the beginning. Evan and I met in 2009 in New York City. We hit it off immediately. We talked about our (nerdy) interests, our families, and our hopes for the future. He was clearly a builder at heart, which was fitting because he was in architecture school. I remember thinking: Wow, I want to work with this guy. 

Eventually, we began talking about building a tool to help you collect the things you love on the internet. That idea turned into a product, which we later named Pinterest. And so began the start of an amazing, decade-long journey together, and with all of you. 

Evan’s been so essential to Pinterest’s growth. Sometimes the tasks were small—he once hurt his wrist putting together IKEA desks at our first office. Often, his contributions were transformational. Countless times, he’s taken a whiteboard of ideas, and translated them into a meaningful experience in the product and company.  

But what I’ve always loved is not just what he’s built, but how he’s built—with empathy, care and concern for others. He’s never been afraid to speak up for those values in a meeting. No matter how big Pinterest got, that never changed. 

For me personally, it’s hard to capture what Evan’s partnership has meant to me. When I reflect on our years building together, I don’t think about a business plan or an OKR. Instead, I think about all those long days, late nights and many phone calls—nurturing a shared dream together; celebrating incredible highs and encouraging each other through tough lows; being at each other’s weddings and meeting each other’s kids for the first time. He’s not only been a great co-founder, but a great friend.  

While Evan won’t be a daily presence at Pinterest anymore, more than anything, I’m grateful—for the person he is, for the work he’s done, and for the counsel he’ll continue providing in his new role. 

We’re hosting Q&A tomorrow and I hope to see you all there so we can say with one collective voice: Thanks, Evan!

— Ben

 

Thanks, Ben. 

Pinterest has been the gift of a lifetime.

When I think back over the past 11 years, I feel filled with gratitude and pride for what our team—and our community—have built together.

When we started Pinterest, we never dreamed that hundreds of millions of people around the world would be using it every month to get inspiration for all facets of their lives. At least I didn’t!

As proud as I am of what we’ve built, how we build it—the values that each of us has woven into the way we do business—makes me even prouder.

We are not perfect, but we care. We work hard to Put Pinners First.

That matters.

As you might imagine, this is a tough decision for me. What job will ever be able to compete with leading Pinterest? None.

But when I think about how to create a life that I love, one thing is clear to me: I really, really want to grow as a designer and product builder. That’s why I’ve made the decision to work with the designer Jony Ive at LoveFrom. This chance for me to learn alongside the very best at their craft is a tremendous opportunity.

And yet: I’m very excited about our vision and strategy here at Pinterest over the next few years. It’s going to be the most ambitious, challenging and rewarding few years in our history.

So while I will no longer be working on Pinterest every day, in my current role, I’m really looking forward to continuing to contribute to our company strategy, our product, our brand and our culture—and, I hope, to bring back new learnings as well.

I want to thank each person reading this for choosing to make our mission and our company the place you invest your time, energy and creativity.

The best part of this past decade for me has been getting to work alongside so many extraordinary people: extraordinary in their talent, their hard work and their intellect, and also in their character, their values and their heart.

Ben: You especially. Your integrity, your resilience, your unbelievable work ethic, and your childlike love of apps and the internet has made you the very best partner—and friend—I could ever have asked for.

You know the best thing about founding a company? You get to build your dream place to work.

Thank you all for helping make my dream come true.

— Evan