Published
Thu, Jan 24, 2019, 10:31
- As of March 1st, the Swedish entrepreneur will step down as chief product officer and take on an advisory position.
SoundCloud cofounder Eric Wahlforss is resigning from his current role as the company's chief product offer in March.
After 11 years, the Swedish entrepreneur, who started the audio distribution platform with Alexander Ljung in 2007, will transition into an advisory role. He broke the news earlier today on Twitter. "I have come to the realisation that now is the right time for me to take a break, reflect and think about what to create next," he said. In addition to SoundCloud, Wahlforss makes electronic music as Forss.
He added: "This was not an easy decision to make, but one of the biggest reasons why I feel I have made the right decision is that the company is in such capable hands. It's been a pleasure working with Kerry [Trainor, CEO] and the new leadership team over the past 18 months. Our team is stronger than ever, and we have very exciting plans slated for 2019."
The last two years have been turbulent at SoundCloud. In 2017, the Berlin-based company laid off 40 percent of its staff to increase profitability, before receiving a $170 million cash injection and appointing a new CEO, Kerry Trainor. Last year, SoundCloud announced it was expanding its Premier service to pay more artists directly, a move that received backlash from some sectors of the music community.
Read Wahlforss's statement in full.