Reddit's CEO Interim Ellen Pao, one of the most controversial figures of Silicon Valley has resigned after one week of firing the popular Reddit employee, Victoria Taylor. The removal of the famous employee caused a lot of protests from Reddit's community followed by moderator's shutdown.
According to Los Angeles Times, Pao said that she is stepping down not because of the criticisms faced from the users and moderators but due to disagreements from the site's board of directors. Pao had stayed in the company for two years and served as CEO interim since November 2014.
"So why am I leaving? Ultimately, the board asked me to demonstrate higher user growth in the next six months than I believe I can deliver while maintaining Reddit's core principles," Pao said.
It was one week after the removal of Taylor, moderator of the famous AMA section in Reddit Inc., the moderators and users were calling a petition for Pao to step down as CEO Interim. This petition gathered 200,000 signatures. Reddit co-founder and original CEO, Steve Huffman, will replace Pao holding the top spot of the company, Pao will also remain as an advisor of the board until the end of the year, Yahoo! reported.
Reddit community and some users called Pao as "totalitarian" due to the banned of five Reddit communities for harassment. Pao also eliminated salary negotiation for Reddit employees during her CEO role.
The Reddit's board of members is thankful for Pao's many contributions to Reddit and in the technology industry. They said that Pao brought focus to chaos, recruited a world-class team and drove growth. Pao issued her resignation on July 10.