Ev Williams Is Stepping Down As Medium’s CEO
He hands over the reins to Tony Stubblebine, aka Coach Tony.
I couldn’t believe it.
It’s not top secret anymore.
I was doing some research for my article about the Top 10 Writers On Medium in 2022.
Since in regard to followers, Ev William, chief executive officer (CEO) of Medium, definitely belongs to the Top Writers on Medium, I clicked on Ev Williams’ profile…
… and there was the hot news.
Ev Williams hands over the CEO reins
It’s been a gratifying, challenging, creative, fun, hard, fascinating journey for me running this company. And it’s time for me to hand over the reins. Ev Williams on Twitter.
One hour ago, Ev announced to step back as Medium’s CEO.
change and renewal are healthy, he stated.
He’ll be moving to Chairman of the Board.
The new CEO is a long-time partner of Ev — Tony Stubblebine aka Coach Tony (41K followers).
Ev met Coach Tony at Odeo. That’s the podcasting service that hatched Twitter and made Ev the co-founder of Twitter.
In thinking about who might replace me, Tony was one of the first people that came to mind, Ev Williams stated.
Coach Tony is the editor-in-chief of one of Medium’s biggest publications in 2022:
- Better Humans (338K followers)
- Better Marketing (120K followers)
Additionally, Tony founded the online coaching company Coach.me and has a successful newsletter called Better Humans Daily.
Short and sweet Q&A
I bet you have a lot of questions running through your head right now.
Here are a few bite-sized morsels for your brain:
Is Medium gonna die?
To be clear, Medium’s story is far from over. The team today is probably the most capable I’ve seen at this company, Ev Williams stated.
Ev will continue to be involved with the company as an investor and Chairman of the Board.
What was Ev Williams' goal with Medium?
He wanted to reinvent publishing on the internet.
In an interview with The New York Times in 2014, he stated,
he hoped to create a company that rewarded writers for producing quality content, a counterbalance to the internet’s tendency toward speed and quantity.
What’s next for Ev Williams?
spend the next few months (or years) learning as much as (he) can about things (he) don’t know a lot about.
Ev plans to start a new holding company and research lab…
to keep doing what I’ve always found most interesting — opening doors to the adjacent possible, Ev Williams said.
Will Ev Williams continue to write on Medium?
As would be appropriate for Medium, I do plan to write more about my learnings when I have some time to reflect, Ev Williams stated.
Why Coach Tony?
He has deep knowledge of Medium from running some of the biggest publications on the platform. He understands the network and what creators need to succeed better than almost anyone. He has a clear POV on how Medium can be better, and a passion to make it so, Ev Williams stated.
Tony is a builder, a writer, an open-minded thinker, and a keen businessperson. I’m confident Medium will benefit greatly from his vision, integrity, energy, and pragmatic leadership.
What will happen to Coach.me?
I will stay on the board but am stepping away from day-to-day operations. Coach Tony
Coach Kendra Kinnison is taking over as CEO.
Long ago, Tony and I realized that we were both motivated by the quote from Leila Janah that “Talent is equally distributed, but opportunity is not.”
I’ve seen firsthand how our platform enables accessibility and support, and I want to keep working towards that mission, stated Kendra in her announcement.
What will happen to the publications Better Marketing and Better Humans?
There hasn’t been an official statement yet. We have to wait and see.
What will happen to the Newsletter Better Humans Daily?
I’m going to pause the newsletter and make changes to it, and then relaunch it Wednesday, July 13th.
Huh?
Yeah, the details are top secret until then, but I’m excited for them. A big change is coming.
What will the future bring for Medium?
As Coach Tony shared in his article about pausing the Better Humans Daily newsletter:
Renewal is not just innovation and change. It is also the process of bringing the results of change into line with our purposes. ~ John W. Gardner.
Did I expect this to happen?
Did I expect this to happen when I wrote about Medium’s 10th Anniversary a few months back?
No!
I didn’t expect this to happen.
I thought Ev Williams would surprise us with another acquisition of a company, new features, a new Writer’s Challenge, bonuses, the ability to access the referral link via the apps, or any other surprises.
All I hope is there won’t be AGAIN a sudden shift in focus.
However, I think there will be more surprises to come next month.
I’d really love somehow celebrate this 10th anniversary with Medium’s team and the wonderful writers on this platform.
Final Takeaways
The only constant on Medium is change.
Cheers to the future of Medium!
Cheers to the future years together!
Thanks, Ev Williams for this wonderful and unique platform!
All the best to Coach Tony and the team!
I’m curious. What do you think?
If you liked my story and you’re like me, then you’ll be digging right into my content library like there’s no tomorrow, and if you haven’t done yet I’d love to invite you to…
- 👉Follow me, Kristina God, here on Medium — my home!
- 👉Sign up for my newsletter to get all the Go(o)dness delivered to your inbox every time I publish a story!
- ☕ Support my morning latte with coconut milk on Ko-Fi.
- 💖Become a Medium Member and read all of my stories!