IMDb founder and CEO Col Needham is stepping down after launching the web site 35 years in the past, the Amazon-owned firm announced on Tuesday. Needham will now function government chair. IMDb chief working officer Nikki Santoro will take over as CEO.
Needham began constructing the database that later became IMDb in 1990. He remained CEO even after promoting the web site to Amazon in 1998, overseeing main adjustments just like the rollout of its IMDbPro subscription and an replace that lets professionals hide their age.
As government chair, Needham will nonetheless “present strategic steering, seek the advice of on key initiatives, and function a worldwide ambassador” for the corporate, based on IMDb’s press launch.
“[Santoro’s] monitor document of driving development and enhancing our services and products makes her the best particular person to information IMDb into a brand new period,” Needham says in a press release. “I sit up for persevering with to work intently with Nikki and the proficient IMDb crew in my new position as we construct on IMDb’s legacy and form the way forward for leisure info.”