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| Ellen Pao speaks to members of the media at Civic Center Courthouse in San Francisco, Friday, March 27, 2015. A jury decided Friday that a prestigious venture capital firm did not discriminate or retaliate against Pao in a case that shined a light on gender imbalance and working conditions for women in Silicon Valley. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) | ASSOCIATED PRESS |
On Monday, Ellen Pao apologized to the Reddit community for mismanagement. Now, she's stepping away from the site altogether.
Recode's Kara Swisher reported Friday that Pao and Reddit's board reached a "mutual decision" that will reinstate Steve Huffman, co-founder of the popular online forum, as CEO. Pao will serve as an advisor to Reddit's board for the rest of 2015.
Asked point-blank by Swisher if Pao was fired, board head Sam Altman said "no."
"We are thankful for Ellen's many contributions to reddit [sic] and the technology industry generally. She brought focus to chaos, recruited a world-class team of executives, and drove growth," Altman said in a statement to Recode.
Pao, who stepped into her role as interim CEO last November, endured a controversial tenure. Most recently, Reddit moderators rebelled against the site's administration over the sudden firing of Victoria Taylor, the head of the "Ask Me Anything" message board, which often features candid Q&A sessions with celebrities and other notable figures. Many of the site's 160 million users were also critical of arecent decision to ban abusive boards on the site. A petition to have Pao removedreceived over 200,000 signatures.
Pao addressed her detractors in a post on Reddit after news of her departure broke.
"I just want to remind everyone that I am just another human; I have a family, and I have feelings. Everyone attacked on reddit is just another person like you and me," Pao wrote.
This article has been updated to include a link to Pao's post on Reddit.
Source: The Huffington Post
