LinkedIn is all set to get a new Chief Executive Officer in June as CEO Jeff Weiner has announced plans to step down from the helm of the social networking company. He will be succeeded by Ryan Roslansky in June. Roslansky has been with the company for over a decade. He has been instrumental in developing in publishing platform and influencer program of LinkedIn. Weiner is stepping down from the post of CEO after 11 years and will be assuming the role of executive chairman. “Weiner will continue to work with LinkedIn and help us realize our vision of creating economic opportunity for every individual. Apart from focusing on developing the next generation of leadership within the company, Weiner will continue to support our leadership team,” said the company. The primary responsibilities of Weiner in the new role will include increasing LinkedIn networks and increasing diversity. Weiner was hired in 2008 by LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman. Earlier to this, it wasn’t really social and people considered it just a job board.
People used to just create an account and fill it with their career history. But projects which Roslansky oversaw helped LinkedIn in getting evolved into a platform with different communities. Marketers started posting their ads, recruiters picked candidates and people started sharing updates and essays. The company decided to went public in 2011 at a valuation of just around USD 4 billion. Four years later, LinkedIn spent USD 1.5 billion in purchasing the online learning platform Lynda. A year later, LinkedIn started earning three-fifths of its revenue from recruiters. Other sources of income include individuals paying for premium services and advertisements.
These changes drew the attention of several companies and Microsoft purchased LinkedIn for about USD 27 billion. The tech giant has never shared details about LinkedIn’s finances but the company is growing steadily. According to a recently released financial report, its revenues increased to USD 2.1 billion in the last quarter of 2019. The revenue of LinkedIn was USD 1.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018. However, LinkedIn had its enough share of controversies. The company continues to function in China and there are several algorithms that can be hacked.
