In a significant announcement today, Discord founder and CEO Jason Citron revealed his decision to step down from his executive role, passing the torch to industry veteran Humam Sakhnini. Citron, who has led the company since its inception, will transition to a role as a member of the Board of Directors and Advisor to the CEO.
In a message sent to Discord employees yesterday, April 23rd, Citron explained that this transition comes as the company enters its next phase of growth, with the long-term goal of becoming a public company. He reflected on the “extraordinary” journey of building Discord, emphasizing the company’s mission of bringing people together around games.
Discord CEO Quote
“As we enter our next phase, I’ve been reflecting on how I can best contribute to Discord’s long-term success,” Citron stated. “The job of a CEO is constantly evolving, and over the years I have continuously ‘hired myself out of a job.’ 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.'”
The new CEO
The incoming CEO, Humam Sakhnini, brings over 15 years of experience in the gaming industry to Discord. His impressive background includes a tenure at Activision Blizzard as Chief Strategy Officer, where he played a key role in guiding major franchises like World of Warcraft and Call of Duty. Most recently, Sakhnini took over leadership at King, the company behind the popular Candy Crush Saga, where he oversaw substantial growth in the public market.
Citron expressed his complete confidence in Sakhnini’s ability to lead Discord into the future, highlighting their shared vision for long-term value creation through a focus on user experience. “Humam and I are fundamentally aligned that creating long-term value requires long-term thinking and focusing on an amazing user experience,” Citron noted. “I am excited for his collaborative approach to fostering a creative environment for you all to continue delivering for our customers.”
Sakhnini is set to officially begin his role as CEO on Monday, April 28th. Citron will remain closely involved during the onboarding process and will continue to support the company in an advisory capacity.
Discord
Citron also expressed his deep gratitude to the Discord team and its users. “Thank you all for your dedication, belief, and hard work over the years,” he wrote. “The stories we tell, the products we create, the programs we run — all of it — is the result of all of your passion and energy. You are what makes Discord what it is today because you give a shit about our customers and your craft.”
This leadership transition marks a new chapter for Discord, building upon the strong foundation laid by Jason Citron. With Humam Sakhnini at the helm, the company is poised to continue its growth trajectory and pursue its ambitions of becoming a public entity.
What do you think?
Being frank, I think this is a sensible move for Discord as a business. Particularly aiming to take the company public.
However, as a customer, I smell microtransactions, subscriptions and everything else that Activision Blizzard and King have masterfully deployed over the years.
Sure, Nitro is already a thing, but this change is going to turn the dial to 11 and I wonder if it will ultimately just pave the way for a new king of online chat channels? The market is ripe for a proper contender, and with people likely watching with baited breath. Now is the time.
Who knows? I could be wrong, but how do you sell a company that is made up of millions of customers that don’t pay a penny and don’t really see any advertising on the platform? You find a way to squeeze that sweet sweet cash out of them, by fair means or foul.
We use Discord a lot at both ninjarefinery.com and fullsync.co.uk so we’ll be keeping an eye on things.