Jay Graber is stepping down as Bluesky CEO. She founded the role in 2021 when the platform and its AT Protocol spun out of a Twitter research project, and will now shift to Chief Innovation Officer. Toni Schneider, venture capitalist and former Automattic CEO, takes over as interim CEO while a permanent replacement is sourced.
Bluesky has grown from 30 million users a year ago to 40 million today. That growth happened without a leadership transition, and now the platform is navigating both simultaneously. Schneider has been an advisor to the company, which limits the cold-start risk but does not eliminate the question of strategic continuity during a period when decentralized social is still proving its model.
The full story is worth reading for what Graber says about why she is moving roles rather than leaving entirely, and what Schneider's background at Automattic, the company behind WordPress, signals about where Bluesky's product priorities may shift next.
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