Melanie Perkins’s husband is Cliff Obrecht, her co-founder and the Chief Operating Officer of Canva. The couple met at university in Australia, built their first business together, and married in January 2021. Together they lead one of the world’s most valuable private software companies and have pledged to give away the vast majority of their fortune.
Who Is Melanie Perkins’s Husband?
Cliff Obrecht is an Australian technology entrepreneur who serves as co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Canva, the design software company valued at approximately $42 billion as of August 2025 . He owns an estimated 18% stake in the company, the same ownership percentage as Perkins .
Obrecht was born in 1985 or 1986 and graduated from the University of Western Australia . He and Perkins married in January 2021 on Rottnest Island in Western Australia . The couple has one child, born in 2022 .
How Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht Met
Perkins and Obrecht met at the University of Western Australia in 2006, where Perkins was studying and later working as a design tutor . They began dating while still students and quickly became business partners.
Their first venture was Fusion Books, an online school yearbook design business they started together. Perkins has described the early days succinctly: “My mum’s living room became my office, and my boyfriend became my business partner,” she told CNBC in 2020 . Over five years, they grew Fusion Books into Australia’s largest yearbook company and expanded into France and New Zealand .
Marriage and Personal Life
Obrecht proposed to Perkins during a trip to Turkey’s Cappadocia region. Reports indicate the engagement ring was worth approximately $30 . The modest ring reflects the couple’s approach to wealth, which they have described as custodial rather than personal.
Their wedding took place in January 2021 on Rottnest Island, a protected nature reserve off the coast of Western Australia . The couple has kept their family life largely private, though Perkins told The Australian in 2023 that navigating motherhood had been “fun, really fun” .
Building Canva Together
In 2013, Perkins, Obrecht, and former Google engineer Cameron Adams officially launched Canva in Sydney . The company faced significant skepticism from investors, enduring more than 100 rejections before securing early backing .
The rejections stemmed partly from Australia’s distance from Silicon Valley and partly from doubts about whether design software could succeed outside the professional market . Obrecht recalled the lesson in a 2026 interview: “It definitely taught us to never give up and also we needed to stick to our mission of solving problems for users” .
Canva has since grown into a platform with more than 240 million monthly users and 6 million paying teams from companies including Zoom . The company’s annualized revenue surpassed $4 billion .
Philanthropy and The Giving Pledge
Perkins and Obrecht signed The Giving Pledge in 2021, committing to donate more than 80% of their wealth to charitable causes through the Canva Foundation . They have pledged to eventually give away a 30% stake in Canva, valued at approximately $42 billion .
Their philanthropy focuses heavily on direct cash transfers to people in extreme poverty. Through the Canva Foundation and the nonprofit GiveDirectly, they launched a program in Malawi that has become the largest unconditional cash transfer initiative ever attempted in a low-income country .
The program gives roughly **$550** directly to each adult recipient via mobile phones, with no strings attached . Early results have been notable: in one sub-district, **90% of recipients** rose above the extreme poverty line within three months. Researchers also found that every $1,000 transferred generated approximately $2,400 in local economic activity .
Obrecht has articulated their philosophy plainly: “Mel and I are committed to giving away all our money to make the world a better place” . In their Giving Pledge letter, the couple wrote that they have “this wildly optimistic belief that there is enough money, goodwill, and good intentions in the world to solve most of the world’s problems” .
A Dual Partnership
The Perkins and Obrecht story combines two partnerships into one. They are spouses who built a company from a living room in Perth into a global platform worth tens of billions. They are also business partners who share the same ownership stake, the same public commitment to philanthropy, and the same two-step plan: build one of the world’s most valuable companies, then use that wealth to do the most good possible .Frequently Asked Questions About Melanie Perkins’s Husband
Who is Melanie Perkins’s husband and what does he do?
Cliff Obrecht is Melanie Perkins’s husband and the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Canva, the design software company they built together. He owns an estimated 18% of Canva, the same ownership stake as Perkins . He has served in the COO role since the company’s founding in 2013.
How did Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht meet?
Perkins and Obrecht met at the University of Western Australia in 2006 while they were both students . They began dating before launching their first business together, an online school yearbook company called Fusion Books. As Perkins told CNBC in 2020, “My mum’s living room became my office, and my boyfriend became my business partner” .
When did Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht get married?
Obrecht proposed to Perkins during a trip to Turkey. The couple married in January 2021 on Rottnest Island in Western Australia, a protected nature reserve off the coast of Perth . They welcomed their first child in early 2022 .
What is Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht’s net worth?
The couple’s combined net worth was estimated at $18.5 billion in 2025, placing them at number one on the Australian Financial Review Young Rich List for the sixth consecutive year . Canva was valued by private investors at $42 billion in August 2025 .
What philanthropy work do Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht do?
Perkins and Obrecht signed The Giving Pledge in 2021, committing to donate more than 80% of their wealth through the Canva Foundation . They have pledged a 30% stake in Canva to charitable causes and have invested $150 million in direct cash transfer programs in Malawi through GiveDirectly, benefiting over 139,000 people .
