Zach Kitshke, the 31-year-old marketing whiz at leading graphic design giant Canva, has pounced on a Bondi house five days after it passed in at auction, paying $5.7m.
Kitshke, known to have been renting in Bondi, grew up in the Illawarra and got his big break at the age of 22 with a one-day contract at Canva nine years ago. “I was out of work and really interested in landing a job at a start-up like Canva,” he told the ABC last September. The five-bedroom “grand scale” semi at in Miller St had gone under the hammer last month, with Sydneyslice buyer’s agent Steve Smith making the last bid of $5.6m.MORE:F45 founder lists in BronteKings Cross real estate boom hits overdrive McGrath agent Simon Exleton had confirmed the property, owned by local builder Andrew Ford, was snapped up in the days that followed, and although all the agents and vendor have remained silent on the mystery purchaser, other sources have confirmed it was Smith’s client, Kitshke. The $55bn company’s chief marketing officer’s savvy purchase occurred the same week that Canva’s chief financial officer Damien Singh and partner Alexandra Pack settled on Paddington’s most expensive terrace, for $12m in Underwood St, last month. That four-bedder on a 400sqm block with swimming pool had been the home of Sydney Airport chief executive Geoff Culbert and his wife, Emma Ward. Although more modest and on a smaller 307 sqm block, Kitshke’s new digs — offered for only the second time in 100 years — is aptly described as having “magnificent proportions over three levels”. It has views over the district, soaring ornate ceilings and Bondi luxuries such as two off-street car spaces, a Balinese-style outdoor hot/cold shower and rainwater herb garden. The vendor, “Andy” Ford, has made considerable improvements to the property since his $750,000 purchase in 2005, including several extensions. News of Canva’s $55bn valuation — more than Telstra and the same as iron ore giant Fortescue — came last September. It was more than double the $20bn valuation the company announced after a $71bn equity sale last April. No news yet of other property moves by Canva’s co-founders. The chief executive, Melanie Perkins, and chief operating officer Cliff Obrecht own a modest terrace in Fitzroy St, Surry Hills, that cost $1.5m in 2017. And chief product officer, Cameron Adams, bought a Balmain terrace for $5.2m last year, an upgrade his Rozelle cottage that sold for $2.4m.
