Rachana Kumar is a public company technology executive and AI governance leader who served as Chief Technology Officer of Etsy, Inc. (NASDAQ: ETSY), where she owned a $1B+ P&L and led 1,200 people across engineering, security, data, machine learning, cloud infrastructure, and IT. Over her decade at Etsy, the marketplace scaled from roughly $1 billion to $13 billion in annual gross merchandise sales and the active buyer base expanded from 46 million to more than 90 million customers across 200+ countries and territories. She is now Founder and CEO of an AI-native venture, building applied AI systems in production, a current, working vantage point on the technology boards are being asked to govern.

She presented quarterly to Etsy’s board of directors on technology and product strategy and AI developments, and reviewed and approved the CISO’s reporting to the board’s risk committee. She oversaw the enterprise cybersecurity function, SOX compliance controls, and global data privacy obligations, and led executive compensation planning and succession for her senior leadership team. Her organization was central not only to revenue but to profitability, driving the operating efficiency behind Etsy’s adjusted EBITDA margins of approximately 27%.

Rachana built and executed Etsy’s AI strategy, scaling generative AI from 3 to more than 30 production applications spanning search, discovery, customer support, marketing, and logistics. She established Etsy’s Responsible AI group to address bias, transparency, and emerging regulatory requirements, and created an internal platform enabling engineers to integrate external LLMs without infrastructure complexity. That work maps directly to the questions boards now face on AI oversight, model risk, third-party dependency, and disclosure.

Her M&A experience spans technology due diligence and post-merger integration across multiple acquisitions, including Depop, DaWanda, A Little Market, and Canasta Rosa. As VP of Engineering and Managing Director of Etsy Mexico, she launched and scaled the company’s Mexico operations to approximately 200 employees. During the COVID-19 demand surge, she scaled infrastructure and customer experience through 200% sales growth without compromising platform stability.

She currently serves as an Advisory Board Member of HALO, the TPG-backed global leader in branded merchandise, recognition, and incentive solutions, with more than 1,800 employees across 42 offices, advising the board and senior management on product and technology strategy, AI transformation, and organizational change. She is a Strategic Advisor to Suno AI, a Board Member of Liberty Science Center, and a member of the Advisory Technology Council at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

A frequent keynote speaker at Microsoft Build, Google Cloud Next, and the WSJ CIO Network Summit, Rachana has been featured in The Wall Street Journal and recognized among Technology Magazine’s Top 100 Leaders in Tech and the Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Tech. She holds a Master of Public Administration from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Engineering from RV College of Engineering.