Pinterest CEO resigns, Google commerce executive handed the reins
Silbermann co-founded Pinterest in 2010
Pinterest announced Tuesday that company CEO Ben Silbermann would be stepping down as head of the photo sharing platform, and that Google commerce executive Bill Ready would be taking over.
Pinterest's shares went up 9% after the news Tuesday and highlighted a new focus on the platform's e-commerce initiatives from its advertising-based business model.
Silbermann had been CEO of the social media platform for 12 years after he co-founded Pinterest in 2010.
Ready had run commerce and payment operations at Google for the past two years and has previously held senior leadership positions during his tenure at PayPal.
Pinterest has grown expeditiously ever since, operating with more than 430 million monthly active users.
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The logo of the photo online community Pinterest is shown on the display of a smartphone on April 22, 2020 in Berlin, Germany. ((Photo by Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images) / Getty Images)
Silbermann will serve as executive chairman, a newly created position, and will keep his seat on the company's board, according to Pinterest. Ready will also join Pinterest's board.
Ready will be paid an annual salary of $400,000 and will also be eligible for a stock option award to purchase about 8.6 million Class A shares.
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Tyumen, Russia - May 1,2019: Apple iPhone XR showing homepage Pinterest application on mobile (iStock)
"In our next chapter, we are focused on helping Pinners buy, try and act on all the great ideas they see," Silbermann said. "Bill is a great leader for this transition."
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Reuters contributed to this report.