Ken Goldstein

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer ThriftBooks

Last Reviewed: September 26, 2026

Executive Summary

Ken Goldstein is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ThriftBooks, the online used-book seller founded in Seattle in 2003, which describes itself as the world’s largest independent seller of used books online. He has been involved with the company since 2013, first as a director and then as executive chairman, before taking the chief executive role in March 2022. His background is in consumer software, online media and e-commerce rather than bookselling: he ran SHOP.COM as chairman and CEO, was an executive vice president at Disney Online, and earlier led entertainment software at Broderbund. He is also a novelist, with three business-themed books published by The Story Plant.

Career Highlights

• Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ThriftBooks since March 2022, per the company’s announcement and its current team page.
• Joined the ThriftBooks board of directors in 2013 and served as executive chairman before becoming CEO.
• Chairman and CEO of SHOP.COM.
• Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Disney Online, part of the Walt Disney Internet Group, overseeing family entertainment web destinations.
• Vice President of Entertainment at Broderbund Software and founding general manager of its Red Orb Entertainment division, leading development on the Carmen Sandiego series.
• Author of This Is Rage (2013), Endless Encores (2015) and From Nothing (2018).

Professional Journey

Goldstein graduated from Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts and started out as a screenwriter and television executive before moving into interactive entertainment in its early years, as a designer and producer at Cinemaware and Philips Interactive Media. At Broderbund Software he became Vice President of Entertainment and the founding general manager of the Red Orb Entertainment division, and led development on the Carmen Sandiego series of educational games.

He then moved into online media at Disney, as Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Disney Online within the Walt Disney Internet Group, responsible for its entertainment web destinations for families. He later served as chairman and chief executive of the e-commerce company SHOP.COM, and has worked as an adviser to start-ups and established companies in technology, entertainment, media and e-commerce.

His connection to ThriftBooks began in 2013, when he joined its board. The company, founded in Seattle in 2003, sells used and new books through its own site and marketplaces including Amazon, eBay, Walmart and Etsy, from a network of US processing centres. After a period as executive chairman, he was named Chairman and CEO in March 2022; the company then reported more than 210 million books sold since its founding. He has said his wife, a teacher, shaped his view that books are treasures that should be shared affordably.

Outside the company, Goldstein writes the CorporateIntel business blog and has published three novels about business and technology. He has served on the boards of Hathaway-Sycamores Child and Family Services, Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles and Full Circle Programs, and was previously board chair of The Good Men Project.

Education

Yale University

Bachelor of Arts