Introducing the New Magento Association Board Members: Meet Jisse Reitsma

Magento has given Jisse a career, a business, and an income. But recent changes in the ecosystem — including Adobe’s acquisition — pushed him to think more deeply about the future.

“It started to feel like the ecosystem was breaking up into islands,” he explains. “Adobe Commerce, Mage-OS, OpenMage, Hyvä — all valuable initiatives, all created for good reasons. But they all exist because of Magento.”

That realization became a turning point.

“By joining the Magento Association, I want to help bring people back together around one ecosystem: Magento.”

Jisse is open about the fact that joining the Magento Association wasn’t an obvious choice at first.

“In the past, I was skeptical,” he admits. “I participated in task forces created by Adobe and SmithBucklin and disliked the artificial idea of ‘creating a community’. For me, a community should grow organically.”

That belief is also why he strongly values initiatives like Mage-OS, which he sees as vital and genuinely community-driven.

Over time, however, his perspective shifted.

“Precisely because Adobe appointed the Magento Association to handle community responsibilities, it became clear that it’s in the best interest of the ecosystem to make the MA work,” he says. “It’s a way to prove that the community can manage itself.”

Instead of continuing to critique from the sidelines, Jisse made a conscious decision.

“I had enough of complaining. I rolled up my sleeves.”

While event organization has been a major part of Jisse’s work for over a decade, he’s clear about where he sees his role as a Board Member.

“As an MA Board Member, I don’t want to tell other event organizers what to do,” he explains. “My focus is elsewhere.”

That focus? Building bridges.

He wants to bring the Magento Association and Mage-OS closer together, reopen communication channels within Adobe Commerce that have gone quiet, and raise overall awareness of the Magento Association.

“It’s about making sure everyone remembers that we still have one common goal.”

Jisse doesn’t just talk about community — he’s seen its impact firsthand.

Together with other members of the Dutch ecosystem, he helped establish Mage-OS Nederland, with the goal of reigniting local community engagement. In early 2025, he stepped down as chair to make room for new leaders — a deliberate move to keep the initiative healthy and evolving.

“Our goal was simple: make people aware of the community again, organize things, and bring back the fun,” he says.

It worked.

The Dutch Magento community is more active than it has been in years, and Meet Magento NL has now been organized for the third time — growing into one of the largest Magento events worldwide.

“I’m definitely not solely responsible,” Jisse emphasizes. “But it shows that when you push hard enough, things can become reality.”

Now, he wants to help spark that same momentum globally through the Magento Association.

Jisse is realistic about the challenges ahead.

“AI is changing how developers work with Magento,” he says. “And it may even change the role of eCommerce itself — just look at developments like Agentic Commerce Protocol.”

At the same time, Magento is no longer the market leader it once was, losing ground to platforms like Shopify.

“That sounds negative, but it’s not,” Jisse adds. “It simply opens new opportunities.”

He believes the Magento Association can become a platform where the community bundles its efforts to respond to these shifts — together.

“It’s not about putting a ‘Magento Association’ label on things,” he says. “It’s about putting the label ‘Magento’ on them. We all have a stake in Magento.”

For Jisse, the path forward is clear.

“If the world changes, Magento needs to change too,” he says. “And that’s something we should do together.”

As a Board Member, his goal is to help reconnect the ecosystem, amplify collaboration, and ensure that Magento remains relevant, fun, and community-driven — just as it’s always been at its best.