Emmett Shear, CEO and co-founder of Twitch, is leaving the company. In a lengthy statement shared on Twitter, Shear said he was stepping down to spend more time with his family following the birth of his first child. Of course, he will continue to collaborate with Twitch as an advisor, but since yesterday the president of the company, Dan Clancy, assumed the role of CEO.
“I have never been more confident in the leadership of Twitch, in all of our people, and in our product than I am today,” writing. “For many years, I really felt that Twitch could die without my guidance and input, but I don’t think that’s true anymore. In fact, I think that’s exactly what allowed me to entertain the idea that I might not work at Twitch.”
Shear was among four co-founders when leading streaming site Justin.tv launched in 2006. During his tenure, he saw the company rebrand as Twitch, sold to Amazon for $1 billion and grew to the point that there is eight million monthly streamers.