Michele Romanow steps down as Clearco CEO as company cuts more staff

by Entertainment Staff Writer January 16, 2023

written by Entertainment Staff Writer January 16, 2023

Dragons’ Den star and serial entrepreneur Michele Romanow is stepping down as chief executive of Toronto-based Clearco, nearly a year after she took on the position, but will stay on in a new role as co-executive chairman.

The move is part of a series of changes at the e-commerce financing company that includes cutting its workforce by 25 per cent as it continues a restructuring strategy.

Romanow will be handing the CEO role over to Andrew Curtis, who had been in an advisory role. A spokesperson for the company said Romanow will oversee external relations and lead fundraising efforts going forward during what she calls a “natural inflection point” for the company this year.

“As a founder, the most important thing to me is the long-term vision of Clearco,” Romanow said in an e-mail. “After running this company for the last eight years, it was obvious we needed new leadership to take the company to new heights.”

Romanow added that the company’s primary priority is to focus on fundamentals and on a short-term push to profitability, which she said needs to be led by a seasoned financial professional with such as Curtis.

Curtis has over 20 years of finance and capital markets experience in New York, including roles at major investment banks Merrill Lynch & Co. and Lazard Frères, according to the spokesperson. Before joining Clearco as an adviser last July, he served as an adviser to real estate investment trust Annaly Capital Management.

The moves continue a restructuring program the company started last year as economic uncertainty hit the tech sector hard. Last summer, Clearco laid off roughly a quarter of its staff and scaled back its international operations, eliminating all of its staff in Ireland, the U.K. and Australia. Those moves reportedly affected about 60 employees. Those moves reportedly affected about 60 employees. Romanow said she doesn’t anticipate additional restructuring for the company.

Clearco wasn’t alone in its spate of layoffs: Canadian tech darlings Shopify Inc. and Wealthsimple have also shed staff as the tech market turned.

Last summer’s changes came at a time when Romanow expressed caution on the economic outlook, but was optimistic about the resilience of Canadian startup businesses.

“The Toronto ecosystem is on fire and continues to be,” Romanow said in an interview at the Collision conference in Toronto last June. “I think we’re going to go through that recession that’s going to affect every one of us, but right now, there (are) … a lot of great companies. Last year was a record year in funding (with) $70 billion invested in Canadian companies.”

Romanow founded the company with her business and life partner, Andrew D’Souza, in 2015. In February 2022, she took over the chief executive role from D’Souza.

“Clearco has been my lifeblood and will continue to be,” Romanow said. “I’ll support our team and our founders, just in different ways now. Instead of being the sole decision maker, I’ll lead our fundraising efforts and all of our external work while directing our long-term strategy.”

• Email: shughes@postmedia.com | Twitter: StephHughes95

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