Why Is Hulu CEO Jason Kilar Finally Leaving?
After rumors of his departure popped up last summer, including rumors that he would take the Yahoo CEO job before Marissa Mayer took it, Hulu chief Jason Kilar, the Silicon Valley star who fought bitterly with the media conglomerates he helped make relevant online, finally announced his departure in a post Friday afternoon on the company's blog. CTO Rich Tom, who has worked with Kilar for over five years, will also be leaving the six-year-old streaming media cooperative with him sometime this quarter.
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It's remains unclear why, exactly, Kilar has decided to go. The company reported a 65 percent increase in sales last quarter and a doubling of its user base, so it doesn't sound like he's leaving for self-preservation's sake. Still, Kilar hasn't always had the best relationship with Hulu's parent companies, NBC, Disney, and News Corp, having publicly criticized their advertising methods about two years ago. Since then, however, the site has grown and made money. In his farewell post, Kilar doesn't offer any indication of what he will do next. Fortune's Dan Primack is guessing a jump into the venture capital pool.
