Discord co-founder and CEO Jason Citron is stepping down from the gaming-focused social messaging service, the startup said Wednesday.
Citron will be replaced by former Activision Blizzard Vice Chairman Humam Sakhnini, who will assume the reigns as Discord CEO and join the company’s board on Monday. Citron will remain on Discord’s board and become an advisor to the CEO, the company said.
In a public memo to employees, Citron said “it feels like the right time” to move on from the executive role and that the company has a “clear strategy, new business lines to grow into, love and passion from our users, and an incredible team of people working tirelessly to deliver for them.”
“The job of a CEO is constantly evolving, and over the years I have continuously ‘hired myself out of a job,‘” Citron wrote. “Usually that means delegating work and then taking on different leadership challenges. However, as I look at what is needed of Discord’s CEO over the next few years, I realize that it’s time for me to literally ‘hire myself out of a job.’”Citron credited Sakhnini’s 15-year experience in the video game industry as helping steer the startup he co-founded alongside Chief Technology Officer Stanislav Vishnevskiy in 2012, when it was initially a gaming studio before its 2015 pivot to online communications.
At Activision Blizzard, Sakhnini helped oversee major gaming franchises like World of Warcraft, Call of Duty and Candy Crush, the company said. Vishnevskiy will remain Discord’s CTO.
Citron will be replaced by former Activision Blizzard Vice Chairman Humam Sakhnini, who will assume the reigns as Discord CEO and join the company’s board on Monday. Citron will remain on Discord’s board and become an advisor to the CEO, the company said.
In a public memo to employees, Citron said “it feels like the right time” to move on from the executive role and that the company has a “clear strategy, new business lines to grow into, love and passion from our users, and an incredible team of people working tirelessly to deliver for them.”
“The job of a CEO is constantly evolving, and over the years I have continuously ‘hired myself out of a job,‘” Citron wrote. “Usually that means delegating work and then taking on different leadership challenges. However, as I look at what is needed of Discord’s CEO over the next few years, I realize that it’s time for me to literally ‘hire myself out of a job.’”Citron credited Sakhnini’s 15-year experience in the video game industry as helping steer the startup he co-founded alongside Chief Technology Officer Stanislav Vishnevskiy in 2012, when it was initially a gaming studio before its 2015 pivot to online communications.
At Activision Blizzard, Sakhnini helped oversee major gaming franchises like World of Warcraft, Call of Duty and Candy Crush, the company said. Vishnevskiy will remain Discord’s CTO.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Discord co-founder and CEO Jason Citrin is stepping down from the gaming-focused social
00:05messaging service, the startup said Wednesday. Citrin will be replaced by former Activision
00:10Blizzard Vice Chairman Humeam Sokmini, who will assume the reins as Discord's CEO and
00:15join the company's board on Monday. Citrin will remain on Discord's board and become
00:20an advisor to the CEO, the company said. In a public memo to employees, Citrin said
00:26it feels like the right time to move on from the executive role and that the company has
00:31a clear strategy, new business lines to grow into, love and passion from our users, and
00:37an incredible team of people working tirelessly to deliver for them. The job of a CEO is constantly
00:43evolving, and over the years I have continuously hired myself out of a job, Citrin wrote. Usually
00:49that means delegating work and then taking on different leadership challenges. However, as
00:54I look at what is needed of Discord's CEO over the next few years, I realize that it's
00:59time for me to literally hire myself out of a job. Citrin credited Sokmini's 15-year
01:04experience in the video game industry as helping steer the startup he co-founded alongside Chief
01:09Technology Officer Stanislav Vishniewski in 2012, when it was initially a gaming studio before
01:15its 2015 pivot to online communications. At Activision Blizzard, Sokmini helped oversee major gaming
01:22franchises like World of Warcraft, Call of Duty and Candy Crush, the company said. Vishniewski
01:28will remain Discord's CEO.