Harley Finkelstein

Harley Finkelstein is a Canadian businessperson, entrepreneur and public speaker. He is best known as the Chief Operating Officer of Shopify. He is a board member of the C100, and an advisor to both OMERS Ventures and Felicis Ventures. He is also a Dragon on CBC Dragons' Den, Next Gen Den.

Finkelstein was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. At 17, he founded a T-shirt company while attending McGill University. He later transferred to Concordia University and received a bachelor's degree in economics. Finkelstein received his law degree and MBA from the University of Ottawa. He founded the JD/MBA Student Society and the Canadian MBA Oath at the University of Ottawa.

After receiving his JD and MBA, Finkelstein worked at a large law firm in Toronto for a year. In 2009, Finkelstein met with Tobias Lütke, the co-founder and CEO of Shopify, to discuss growth opportunities for the company. Finkelstein was one of Shopify's first customers and had experience building an online store on the company's platform. Finkelstein was hired soon after and became Shopify's Chief Platform Officer. The Ottawa Business Journal named Finkelstein "Newsmaker of the Year" in December 2013. Finkelstein was also listed on Ottawa Citizen's "People to Watch in 2014." In December 2014, Finkelstein was appointed a member of the C100 board. The C100 is an organization that supports the Canadian technology community and is a bridge between Canada and Silicon Valley. Finkelstein serves as a mentor and advisor to various organizations and incubators including Felicis Ventures, FounderFuel, InvestOttawa and CIPPIC. In January 2016, Finkelstein was named COO of Shopify.