LinkedIn chief executive Jeff Weiner to step aside

The head of the professional networking site will shift to new role as executive chairman. Photo / Getty Images

Jeff Weiner, the former Yahoo executive who built LinkedIn into the dominant professional networking site, is stepping aside as chief executive officer of the after more than a decade.

The name of the Microsoft-owned networking site will still feature at the top of his online resume, however. Mr Weiner is set to stay on in the new position of executive chairman, the company said, focusing on things like leadership development and building external relationships for the company.

Mr Weiner was brought in by LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman in the depths of the financial crisis at the end of 2008, at a time when the networking company had 338 employees and 33m members. Since then, it has mushroomed to 16,000 employees and 675m members.

Though primarily a job site, the value of LinkedIn's global network of professionals was shown into sharp focus in 2016 when it became the subject of a bidding war between Microsoft and Salesforce. Microsoft won the battle with a $26.2bn offer, which valued Mr Weiner's personal stake at $650m.

He is succeeded by Ryan Roslansky, a ten-year LinkedIn veteran who was most recently the company's head of product.

Mr Weiner's future role will include helping "realise our vision of creating economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce," LinkedIn said — a reference to an issue that has become a personal concern to the former CEO. He has warned of the tendency of online networking to reinforce existing offline connections — in the process, strengthening the position of people who start out with good personal connections while leaving others on the outside.

Written by: Richard Waters

© Financial Times 2019