Strava is on the hunt for a new CEO, after Michael Horvath revealed who will leave office for the second time.
Horvath co-founded Strava in 2009, leading the company to become one of the largest social activity-tracking communities in the world, growing 100 million registered users last year.
After leaving the Strava hotseat in 2013 for family reasons, Horvath returned as CEO six years later, with co-founder Mark Gainey also returning as CEO. Now, Horvath says that he is stepping down as chief executive and that the company is actively looking for a replacement, simply saying that he feels the company needs someone different at the helm to spearhead its next phase of growth.
“As co-founder and CEO, making sure we’re choosing the right path to that destination is only part of my job,” Horvath said. “The other part is making sure we always recruit and support the right leaders at the right times.”
changing of the guard
While Strava is primarily known for its use in the cycling and running spheres, allowing users to track and share activities, it has been looking to expand its appeal to tangential outdoor pursuits like hiking as it pursues a greater growth. Indeed, the company thrown out a new mountain sports option last year, then a few weeks ago announced that it had acquired a European startup called Fatmap, which has created a 3D mapping platform for mountains. Strava plans to integrate Fatmap into its core platform in the coming months.
Anytime there’s a changing of the guard at a big VC-backed tech company, it often signals that something big is looming on the horizon. In fact, Strava has raised over $150 million in funding over the past 14 years, securing big-name backers like Sequoia Capital along the way, and it would make sense for Strava to have at least one eye on an outing. horvath said last year that there were no immediate plans for an initial public offering, although he later clarified that he wouldn’t rule it out if it made sense at the time.
However, the official line for now is that Horvath believes that Strava needs a different skill set to take it to the next level, whatever the next level looks like.
“What got us here is not going to be the exact same thing that got us there,” Horvath said. “I have decided that Strava needs a CEO with the experience and skills to help us make the most of this next chapter.”
