Bluesky CEO Jay Graber is stepping down from the top leadership position and transitioning to a new role as chief innovation officer. Toni Schneider, the former CEO of Automattic and a partner at True Ventures, will serve as interim CEO. Both Automattic and True Ventures are investors in Bluesky.
The leadership change signals a deliberate shift in how the platform approaches its growth trajectory. As a more mature company, Bluesky needs a "seasoned operator focused on scaling and execution," according to Graber, who said she feels better suited to building Bluesky's technology itself.
Graber has helped grow the X and Threads competitor to 43 million users and furthered development of its underlying AT Protocol. The transition comes as the company faces growing challenges complying with age assurance laws around social media. One law in Mississippi led to Bluesky choosing to block the state entirely, while laws in Ohio, South Dakota, and Wyoming have forced the company to begin age verification.
Schneider brings substantial operational experience. From 2006 to 2014, he was CEO of Automattic, where he helped scale WordPress.com into a top-10 global internet destination with nearly 1 billion monthly visitors. Schneider's experience with Automattic positions him to understand the challenges that come with balancing open source tech with the needs of a company to generate profit.
In announcing the change, Schneider said his role will be to "help set up Bluesky's next phase of growth" while pledging "not to change what's working" and to continue working with developers building apps on top of Bluesky's decentralised system. Schneider touted the company's growth to over 40 million users and an ecosystem of over 500 active apps.
The company says its board will search for a permanent chief executive. During the interim period, Schneider will remain active in his role at True Ventures.