Cliff Obrecht

Cliff Obrecht holds a background in education and history from the University of Western Australia, but his true expertise was forged as the operational anchor of Fusion Books. Bootstrapping the yearbook design company alongside Melanie Perkins, his deep background in aggressive sales, cold-calling schools, and managing localized printing supply chains provided the highly resilient, gritty operational foundation that later allowed Canva to scale globally.

Cliff Obrecht is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Canva. A master of operational execution, sales strategy, and corporate partnerships, Obrecht directed Canva's business development from its early days in Perth. At Canva, Obrecht oversees global operations, people, real estate, international expansions, and strategic corporate M&A. He led the landmark acquisitions of Pexels, Pixabay, Smartmockups, Serif (Affinity), and Leonardo.ai, while orchestrating Canva's global philanthropic commitments alongside Melanie Perkins. Obrecht's operational discipline was crucial in guiding Canva to operating profitability within four years of public launch, a rare feat in venture-backed software. In 2024, Obrecht orchestrated the landmark acquisition of Serif and its Affinity suite, mounting Canva's direct competitive challenge to Adobe Creative Cloud, while co-directing Canva's philanthropic commitments to global poverty relief.