Rizwan Somji announced today that he will step down as the CEO of the e-commerce venture Cymax Group Technologies, as of Dec. 8, so he can have more "family time."
The Burnaby-based company is known for selling furniture and home-decor items online.
Mike Herenberg, who has served as the company's COO since July 2022, will serve as interim CEO until Cymax appoints a successor. Somji is expected to serve in an advisory capacity during the transition.
Somji, who joined Cymax in 2015 as vice-president of technology, said on LinkedIn that his plan was to focus first on family. He did not mention any future job.
"I am really looking forward to family time," he said. "I’ve been travelling a lot over the past year, and I am excited to be spending quality time with my kids and my wife, recharging and getting myself ready for the next exciting chapter."
Somji became Cymax' chief operating officer in May 2017 and then its CEO in January 2019.
Cymax is majority owned by Markus Frind, who told BIV earlier this year that the company is the biggest revenue generator out of all of his ventures. Frind is likely best known for founding the dating site Plenty of Fish, and selling it to Match Group for US$575 million in mid-2015. He also owns Frind Estate Winery, the recreational vehicle rental site RVezy.com, the Alberta-based softward company Symend and other ventures.
Months later Frind led a $30 million financing round in Cymax that included investors such as Salman Partners/Pinkowski.co and BDC Capital.
The company's website says that it uses technology that maximizes the best of automation, optimization, and AI to simplify the complexities of e-commerce through two products: Channel Gate and Freight Club.
"My time at Cymax Group has been so fulfilling and I have loved being part of and building an innovative, resilient, and dynamic team," Somji said on LinkedIn.
"The past few years have been both wonderful, challenging, exciting, and above all – rewarding. I have learned a lot as a leader and technologist and have had the opportunity to work with incredibly talented individuals and teams."
