Shopify's COO says her ideal employee is an 'X-shaped' person

Shopify's main operating serviceman has 1 connection to picture labor that will thrive successful the AI era: "X-shaped."

On an section of the "Rapid Response" podcast released connected Wednesday, Jess Hertz said that Shopify antecedently embraced the thought of a "T-shaped person" — personification pinch wide capabilities but heavy expertise successful 1 area. AI is changing that model.

"What I deliberation we're starting to spot is AI is really pushing towards what I'm calling X-shaped people," Hertz said. "You person different vectors of expertise, and you're really moving distant from conscionable the anticipation that you person to person extent successful this 1 area."

She said these labor person "multiple spikes of expertise" — they tin sorb analyzable concepts and study caller skills quickly.

She added: "You person aggregate spikes of expertise, overmuch faster, being capable to sorb complexity, being capable to study caller spaces, being capable to you cognize beryllium a 7 retired of 10 designer if you want to be."

Hertz joined Shopify successful 2021 arsenic wide counsel aft serving successful the Biden administration, including arsenic White House unit secretary. She became the e-commerce company's COO successful 2025.

The displacement whitethorn besides alteration really companies combine teams, Hertz said.

"The different portion is really really do those different shaped group really intersect pinch each other," she said. "The thought of squad creation and the different constellation of group will only go much and much important arsenic we participate this AI world."

Last year, Shopify's CEO, Tobi Lütke, went viral for mandating AI usage astatine the institution and said that questions astir AI usage would beryllium gauged astatine capacity reviews.

"Before asking for much head count and resources, teams must show why they cannot get what they want done utilizing AI," Lütke wrote successful an April memo that he posted connected X aft it was leaked.

'Learn your EQ'

Hertz joins a group of tech leaders who person been saying that AI is changing what they are looking for successful an perfect employee.

In a February TV interview, Anthropic president Daniela Amodei said she thinks group pinch a humanities background are arsenic important arsenic ever, since AI models are very bully astatine STEM.

"What I mean by that is erstwhile we look to prosecute group astatine Anthropic today, we look for group who are awesome communicators, who person fantabulous EQ and group skills, who are benignant and compassionate and funny and want to thief different people."

Similarly, successful an question and reply past year, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said workers should create the abilities that AI struggles to replace.

"My proposal to group would beryllium captious thinking, study skills, study your EQ, study really to beryllium bully successful a meeting, really to communicate, really to write," he said.