Where does Cliff Obrecht work?

Cliff Obrecht is Co-founder & COO of Canva.

Where did Cliff Obrecht go to school?

Cliff Obrecht studied at The University of Western Australia.

What awards has Cliff Obrecht received?

Obrecht appeared on the Australian Financial Review Rich List, ranked sixth on the 2025 list with a joint net worth of A$14.14 billion.

What podcasts and interviews feature Cliff Obrecht?

Tracked appearances include "From 100 VC Rejections to a $40BN Company", "Cliff Obrecht talks Canva, start-ups and the road to success".

Cliff Obrecht

Unicorn founder

Co-founder & COO at Canva

Sydney, Australia

FoundedCanva$40B

Find your path to Cliff

149 people in our graph share verified history with Cliff — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.

Javier SolterounlockedCliff: together at Canva (2022–2024)

×6Cliff: together at Canva

×5Cliff: together at The University of Western Australia

About

Cliff Obrecht co-founded Canva with Melanie Perkins and owns roughly 18% of a company valued at $42 billion in its August 2025 share sale, on about $4 billion of annual recurring revenue. He ran and internationalised Fusion Books — the yearbook business the pair started in 2007 — while Perkins chased the funding for Canva, and has served as COO since the 2013 launch. He and Perkins married in 2021, signed the Giving Pledge, and have committed more than 80% of their fortune to the Canva Foundation. In 2026 he confirmed Canva is 'fully IPO ready' but working toward a 2027 listing, waiting until its shift to an AI-credits business model beds in.

Likely email· guessed from name + firm domain, not firm-published

c•••@canva.comreveal75% confident

Beyond investing

Founded: Co-founded Fusion Books with Perkins in 2007 and ran its international expansion, giving the pair four years of online-publishing experience before Canva. Co-founded Canva in 2013 with Perkins and Cameron Adams; serves as COO and owns about 18% of the company. Obrecht co-founded Canva with Melanie Perkins and Cameron Adams.
Education: Took a degree in arts and education at the University of Western Australia.
Communities: Signed the Giving Pledge with Perkins in 2021, committing roughly 30% of their Canva equity and more than 80% of their wealth to the Canva Foundation.
Awards: Obrecht appeared on the Australian Financial Review Rich List, ranked sixth on the 2025 list with a joint net worth of A$14.14 billion.
Family: Grew up in Kingsley, a northern suburb of Perth; married Melanie Perkins in January 2021 on Rottnest Island. Obrecht was born to Stan Obrecht, a government employee, and Mary Obrecht, a school teacher, and grew up in Kingsley near Perth. In January 2021 he married Melanie Perkins, his business partner, on Rottnest Island.
More: Confirmed in 2026 that Canva is 'fully IPO ready' but targeting a 2027 listing, deliberately waiting for its AI-credits business model to bed in.

From published sources — common ground for a warm intro.

Co-founder & COO at Canva

Intro paths

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In turn, Cliff can intro founders to Canva's investors below.

Canva's investors · 46

500 GlobalSan Francisco · $150K checks · since 2012 AirTree VenturesSydney · $132K – $16.5M checks · since 2021 Alkeon InnovationNew York Alpha Square GroupNew York Altos VenturesBurlingame · $1M – $3M checks Altra VentureNew York City · $500K – $25M checks Athletic Ventures B CapitalGeneva Bessemer Venture PartnersRedwood City · $5M – $100M checks · since 2021 Blackbird VenturesSydney · $149K – $60M checks Builders + Backers CapitalGSan Francisco · $50M – $100M checks Carbide VenturesPalo Alto Coatue ManagementNew York · $1M – $20M checks Felicis VenturesSan Francisco · $500K – $15M checks · since 2021 Five V CapitalDarlinghurst Flow CapitalToronto FPVJackson · $100K – $5M checks Franklin TempletonSan Mateo · since 2021 Full In PartnersNew York · $3M – $50M checks Galdana VenturesBarcelona General CatalystSan Francisco · $30M checks Global Founders CapitalBerlin · $637K – $32M checks GreenoaksSan Francisco · $1M – $50M checks · since 2021 ICONIQSan Francisco Investible Climate Tech FundSydney · $330K checks Mana VenturesEstero March Capital PartnersSanta Monica MatrixSan Francisco · $100K – $10M checks Premji InvestMenlo Park Quadrant Private Equity Pty Ltd.Sydney · $46.2M – $99M checks Raptor GroupMiami Beach Recursive VenturesSan Francisco · $100K – $1M checks Rembrandt Venture PartnersLaramie Rogue Insight CapitalMarkham SecondQuarter VenturesSydney Sequoia Capital’s Scout programMenlo Park · $25K – $100K checks SHAKTISan Francisco · $250K – $2M checks Shasta VenturesMenlo Park · $250K – $6M checks Square Peg CapitalMelbourne Stack CapitalToronto T. Rowe PriceBaltimore · since 2021 TDK VenturesSan Jose · $5M checks TLV PartnersTel Aviv · $3M – $70M checks TreefrogNewmarket YOBE VenturesMiami

Co-founders at Canva

Melanie PerkinsCo-founder & CEO

Clifford ObrechtExecutive Officer, Director

Cameron AdamsCo-founder & CPO

Experience

CanvaCo - Founder & COOcurrent2012 — presentSydney, San Fransisco
Fusion BooksManaging Director2008 — 2013Surry Hills, Sydney

Skills & more

Strategy8Management34E-commerce30Online Advertising21Start-ups70New Business Development32Entrepreneurship48Business Model Development3Manage Client Relationships3Social Media13Business Development7Online Marketing17

+4 more

Product DevelopmentGraphicsCRMBusiness Strategy

From Cliff's professional profile.

Podcasts & interviews

featuring Cliff Obrecht

From 100 VC Rejections to a $40BN Company

20VC · thetwentyminutevc.com

Cliff Obrecht talks Canva, start-ups and the road to success

UWA · uwa.edu.au

Frequently asked questions

Who is Cliff Obrecht?: Cliff Obrecht co-founded Canva with Melanie Perkins and owns roughly 18% of a company valued at $42 billion in its August 2025 share sale, on about $4 billion of annual recurring revenue. He ran and internationalised Fusion Books — the yearbook business the pair started in 2007 — while Perkins chased the funding for Canva, and has served as COO since the 2013 launch. He and Perkins married in 2021, signed the Giving Pledge, and have committed more than 80% of their fortune to the Canva Foundation. In 2026 he confirmed Canva is 'fully IPO ready' but working toward a 2027 listing, waiting until its shift to an AI-credits business model beds in.
Where does Cliff Obrecht work?: Cliff Obrecht is Co-founder & COO of Canva.
What companies did Cliff Obrecht found?: Cliff Obrecht founded Canva.
Where did Cliff Obrecht go to school?: Cliff Obrecht studied at The University of Western Australia.
What awards has Cliff Obrecht received?: Obrecht appeared on the Australian Financial Review Rich List, ranked sixth on the 2025 list with a joint net worth of A$14.14 billion.
What podcasts and interviews feature Cliff Obrecht?: Tracked appearances include "From 100 VC Rejections to a $40BN Company", "Cliff Obrecht talks Canva, start-ups and the road to success".