Image-sharing platform Pinterest tapped Google’s president of commerce and payments Bill Ready as its new CEO, replacing co-founder Ben Sibermann who is moving to the role of executive chairman after 12 years as its chief.

The appointment is effective today (29 June). In a statement, Pinterest talked-up Ready’s online commerce experience, having served in senior positions at PayPal and Venmo, along with his most recent role at Google.

Pinterest operates an advertising-based business model and states it has 400 million monthly active users (MAUs). It stated revenue doubled during the Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.

Tapping Ready is a reflection of Pinterest’s aim to upgrade its business model to focus on e-commerce initiatives.

Ready outlined his vision for the next phase of Pinterest, stating it wanted to “help people engage more deeply with the products and services” on the platform.

“As someone who has spent most of my career in commerce and payments, it’s so clear to me that Pinterest has the opportunity to build something unique, something special,” he added.