8 Questions with Jason Woosley, Adobe’s Vice President of Commerce Product & Platform

In June 2018, Adobe announced the completion of its acquisition of Magento Commerce, a market-leading commerce platform. The addition of the Magento Commerce Cloud to the Adobe Experience Cloud delivered a single, end-to-end digital experience platform including content creation, marketing, advertising, analytics and commerce for B2B and B2C customers.

Since then, Jason Woosley has been Adobe’s Vice President of Commerce Product & Platform. And during day 1 of Adobe Summit 2019, he unveiled the new Adobe Commerce Cloud, which leverages an ecosystem of more than 300,000 developers — providing an end-to-end solution to optimize both customer experience and business operations by powering integrated and fully managed commerce across all storefronts — physical, digital and virtual. To get to know Jason better, here are 8 questions with him.

What was your number one reason for joining Magento?

While I was still at SmarterHQ, I was working with the Vice President & Principal Analyst of Forrester back in 2015. I remember one day he left Forrester and joined Magento, and for him to choose Magento said something. That peaked my interest, so I eventually flew out to the headquarters in Campbell to meet the leadership team and learn more about the Magento story. It was so compelling and the opportunity with the technology was amazing.

Is the spirit of why you originally joined Magento at Adobe?

The spirit is absolutely alive at Adobe! Even prior to the acquisition’s close, the cultural alignment between Adobe and Magento was there. More so, Magento’s mission is all about empowering people, and the opportunity is bigger now that we’ve joined Adobe. The acquisition has improved the opportunity to change the world.

What got you into the commerce space in the first place?

One of my first jobs out of graduate school required us to accept payments over the internet, and it was an incredibly painful process. That was a dead giveaway that we needed to enable a better commerce online. So my career started with managing a shopping cart experience out of necessity. And as my career grew, I made it my personal mission to improve the accessibility and effortlessness of these experiences.

What’s your vision for 2019?

I view 2019 as the year of no excuses. We have very clear objectives and we have the resources—not to mention terrific integrations with Adobe products and Adobe Sensei. Our team goes from planning to delivery very quickly and we have rich opportunity to deliver meaningful experiences. It’s going to be a great year. The winds are at our back!

When hiring for your team, what do you look for?

I look for people who are wicked smart, unafraid, and have natural curiosity. But also those who are grounded in humility. If you think you have all the answers, you certainly do not—we’re never done learning. You need to be willing to seek ways to improve, which is hard. But if you shy away from that, that’s not what I’m looking for.

What’s a quote you live by?

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail” by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Favorite book/podcast/movie/tv show right now?

I finally got around to watching A Star is Born, and I’ve been addicted to it since. It’s an amazing directorial debut by Bradley Cooper, and Lady Gaga did a terrific job. The characters were endearing and story is heartfelt.

Best piece of advice you ever received?

Be yourself. That’s the best advice I’ve ever gotten, period. You hear it all the time, but it’s hard advice to take. Be genuine, be vulnerable. It’s all you got. We all have a story to tell, and the worst thing you can do is not tell it.

Want to learn more about the opportunities Adobe has to offer? Drop by our career site.