Twitch CEO Emmett Shear has announced that he is stepping down from his position immediately, citing personal reasons as the primary cause for his departure. Dan Clancy, who currently serves as Twitch’s President, will take over as CEO, with Shear staying on in an advisory role.
In a blog post explaining his decision, Shear said that the birth of his first child had prompted him to reflect on his future with Twitch. As a result, he felt that the platform had grown to the point where it no longer required his constant attention and that he was ready to tackle new challenges.
Shear expressed his gratitude towards Amazon, which acquired Twitch in 2014, for their support and for allowing the platform to grow and flourish. Shear also took a moment to reminisce about the origins of Twitch, which began as a project in 2006 to create a 24/7 live reality TV show about Justin Kan’s life. This evolved into Justin.tv, a site where users could “lifecast” themselves via online video, which was co-founded by Shear, Kan, Michael Seibel, and Kyle Vogt. After gamers started using the site to broadcast their gameplay, the company launched the dedicated Twitch.tv service in 2011, and officially renamed itself Twitch Interactive in 2014.
Today, Twitch boasts over 8 million streamers per month, a testament to the platform’s growth and success. Shear’s departure comes after the November 2020 departure of Twitch’s former COO, Kevin Lin. Prior to Shear’s departure, he was the last co-founder still at the company. With Clancy taking over as CEO, Twitch is poised to continue its upward trajectory and remain a leading player in the world of livestreaming.
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(Via)
