Founder Tim Stokely will likely be changed by former OnlyFans spokesperson Ami Gan.

OnlyFans CEO Tim Stokely is looking it quits and can step down 5 years after beginning the net creator platform that’s now synonymous with intercourse work. That’s according to a latest Bloomberg report, which revealed former OnlyFans spokesperson Ami Gan would take over as CEO.

That transfer got here as a shock to many since Gan is a comparatively new face at OnlyFans having solely joined the corporate in late 2020 as Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, according to her LinkedIn web page. Seeing a Marketing government take over a tech firm can also be uncommon. Nonetheless, Gan instructed Bloomberg Stokley left on his personal accord and that he’ll proceed to function an adviser.

In a press release despatched to Gizmodo, OnlyFans confirmed Stokley had appointed Gan to the place to imagine day-to-day management of the corporate.

“I look forward to continuing to work closely with our creator community to help them maximize control over, and monetise, their content,” Gan stated within the assertion. “By blending state of the art technology with creative capital, we are committed to being the safest social media platform in the world.”

Stokley commented on the departure as properly by way of an Instagram post on Tuesday. “I’m passing the baton on to a colleague and a friend, who has the vision and drive to help the organization reach tremendous potential,” Stokely wrote.

The departure marks a becoming finish of the 12 months for OnlyFans which has struggled to navigate by means of turbulent coverage modifications and backlash from its customers.

OnlyFans emerged as one of many massive winners in 2020 as hundreds of thousands of customers world wide flocked to their screens in document droves for leisure and luxury. For context, a examine led by UCLA researchers decided display time amongst U.S. adults increased by greater than 60% throughout Covid lockdowns. Other research from UC San Francisco in the meantime discovered non-school-related display time amongst U.S. adolescents doubled in 2020. All this new time on units was a boon for OnlyFans, notably as intercourse staff, reside musicians, and different performers had been compelled to pivot their enterprise on-line amid lockdown restrictions.

At its apex, OnlyFans managed to herald prime mainstream celebrities like Cardi B and Bella Thorne. All that resulted in document development for the corporate which completed the 12 months with revenues up 540% in comparison with the 12 months prior and near 100 million paying customers, Forbes notes.

Despite all that success, OnlyFans reportedly confronted an uphill battle attracting buyers uncomfortable placing their cash and repute behind a platform related to sexual content material. That dilemma probably result in what would grow to be a collection of uncomfortable occasions for the platform, beginning with its August choice to ban sexually express content material. At the time, OnlyFans stated the choice to distance itself from the very content material that made it a identified identify was carried out, “In order to ensure the long-term sustainability of the platform,” and cited “unfair” therapy from banks as a part of the issue.

The firm confronted swift and fast backlash from intercourse staff, lots of whom relied on the platform as their major supply of earnings. OnlyFans was compelled to reverse course and droop its ban lower than every week after it was issued.

Not lengthy after the coverage shift, OnlyFans began selling its non-nudity, secure for work app referred to as OFTV. That app, which didn’t run afoul of nudity or sexual content material restrictions by some main web platforms, marked OnlyFan’s entry into Apple and Google’s app shops. Despite the sluggish early rollout, Gan, OnlyFans’ new CEO, instructed Bloomberg she intends to extend funding in OFTV.

And in contrast to Stokely, whose profession previous to OnlyFans concerned enterprise associated to pornography, Gan’s former roles reportedly concerned working for manufacturers like Red Bull, Quest Nutrition. 

As for the way forward for sexual content material on the platform, an OnlyFans spokesperson instructed Gizmodo it “remains committed to being an inclusive platform for all of its creators to share content that meets its Terms of Service,” however declined to remark additional.