Tumblr's 'Shadow CEO' Is Out
Jul 1, 2014, 21:22 IST
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Derek Gottfrid, who joined from the New York Times in 2010, is leaving, according to a memo David Karp sent to the staff.
Gottfrid was almost a "shadow CEO" according to people close to the company. When he joined Tumblr it was still a messy company, but he stepped in and helped organize it.
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He kept taking on new responsibilities, and eventually he was leading things on a day-to-day basis. He led product, then engineering, then he got Tumblr into the ad business, and he was a key part of the Yahoo deal.
In many ways, he was Tumblr's Sheryl Sandberg, but without the big name or profile.
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More to come, but here is the email from Karp: