Coinbase Taps Former Google Exec As Head Of Product

Google Shopping Exec Is New Coinbase CPO

Digital currency exchange Coinbase has hired Google Shopping Vice President of Product Surojit Chatterjee as its new chief product officer, according to TechCrunch.

Chatterjee is also a former head of product for Indian eCommerce company Flipkart.

“I’ve always enjoyed being associated with technology that is on the brink of changing how we live” Chatterjee said. “Google ads has helped democratize commerce, Flipkart and eCommerce has revolutionized life in India, and I believe Coinbase is going to turn conventional finance on its head.”

Chatterjee worked at Google for 11 years. He started as a creator of Google’s mobile search Ads offering, which makes the company billions of dollars in revenue.

He’s going to help Coinbase organize its products, like its cryptocurrency exchange, digital wallet, stablecoin products, crypto education platform Earn and Coinbase Commerce. Chatterjee is replacing Jeremy Henrickson.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the hire is one he’s excited about.

“Surojit is a huge asset here because we’re a product-led company,” Armstrong said. “We have different leaders, and they increasingly have responsibilities around P&L. Having one really experienced chief product officer that can mentor them and teach them to own revenues and budgets — really in the model of Google — that will professionalize Coinbase.”

Chatterjee said that growing up poor helped him see what the lack of money can do to a household. He said his upbringing motivated him in his current career.

“As a kid, I would go with my mom to a local bank to withdraw money,” he said. “And believe me when I tell you that the process was epic.”

The process involved withdrawal slips, tokens and matching current signatures to old ones. When India demonetized and made everyone exchange their cash, Chatterjee explained that his father, “who was almost 80 at that time, stood in a queue for five hours to get 2,000 Rs, which was the per-day limit for the first week. That’s less than $30!”