Stewart Butterfield

Stewart Butterfield: Co-founder and Former CEO of Slack

Stewart Butterfield is a Canadian billionaire entrepreneur best known for co-founding the popular team communication tool Slack and the photo-sharing website Flickr. He served as the CEO of Slack from its founding in 2013 until his departure from the company in January 2023, shortly after Salesforce acquired Slack for $27.7 billion in 2020.13

Early Life and Education

• Born in 1973 in Lund, British Columbia as Dharma Jeremy Butterfield3
• Grew up in a log cabin without running water or electricity on a commune in remote Canada3
• Moved to Victoria, British Columbia at age 53
• Taught himself how to code as a child and changed his name to Stewart at age 123
• Received a BA in Philosophy from the University of Victoria in 1996 and a MPhil from the University of Cambridge in 199823

Career Highlights

• Co-founded Flickr in 2000, which was acquired by Yahoo in 20053
• Launched Slack in 2013 after his previous startup Glitch was shut down13
• Grew Slack to over 2 million daily active users by 20153
• Oversaw Slack's successful IPO in 2019 at a $21.4 billion valuation3
• Sold Slack to Salesforce for $27.7 billion in 202013
• Departed as Slack CEO in January 2023 after less than 2 years under Salesforce1

Awards and Recognition

• Named one of BusinessWeek's "Top 50" Leaders in 20053
• Included in MIT Technology Review's TR35 list of top innovators under 35 in 20053
• Featured in Time 100 list of most influential people in 20063
• Awarded the Legacy Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Victoria in 20083
• Received the Wall Street Journal's Technology Innovator award in 20153

So in summary, Stewart Butterfield is a highly successful Canadian tech entrepreneur who co-founded two major companies - Flickr and Slack. He led Slack from its inception to its acquisition by Salesforce for $27.7 billion, cementing his status as a billionaire and one of the most prominent figures in the software industry.34