The decentralized social network's decade-long founder is handing over the reins in what represents the most significant leadership overhaul in Mastodon's history. Eugen Rochko is stepping down as CEO as part of the organization's transition to nonprofit status, with Felix Hlatky taking over as Executive Director under a new board structure that includes Twitter co-founder Biz Stone.
The creator of Mastodon is walking away from the CEO chair he's occupied for a decade, marking a pivotal moment for the decentralized social network that's positioning itself as the anti-billionaire alternative to platforms like X and Threads. Eugen Rochko announced his departure as part of the organization's broader transformation into a nonprofit structure, a move that's been months in the making and represents the platform's biggest bet on long-term sustainability.
Felix Hlatky, who's been consulting for Mastodon pro bono during the transition, steps into the Executive Director role immediately. The restructuring places the platform under a board of directors that reads like a who's who of tech veterans, including Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, activist Esra'a Al Shafei, and Karien Bezuidenhout. It's a deliberate move to distribute power beyond a single founder - something that's become increasingly rare in today's tech landscape.
"[Mastodon has] become kind of synonymous with my identity," Rochko told TechCrunch in explaining his decision. "I can't look somewhere and see something about social media without thinking about how it affects my work. I want it to succeed. And it's led to a lot of stress, and obviously, it ultimately led to burnout."
The timing couldn't be more critical. While Mastodon once surged to 2 million monthly active users during the chaos following Elon Musk's Twitter acquisition, those numbers have since settled to under 1 million. Meanwhile, competitor Bluesky has rocketed to 40 million registered users, though both platforms see significantly smaller active user bases than their registration numbers suggest.
