Former Activision Blizzard vice chairman and King Digital Entertainment president, Humam Sakhnini, has been named the new CEO of Discord.
It’s a notable shift for the voice, video, and text communication platform, which is utilized by over 200 million monthly active users—including a litany of video game developers and communities.
Sakhnini has been appointed to eventually turn Discord into a public company. He’ll also help the platform continue refocusing on its “gaming roots” while exploring the opportunities presented by “advertising, micro-transactions, and providing social infrastructure to game developers.”
Sakhnini will officially step into the role on April 28, 2025. His soon-to-be predecessor, Discord co-founder and long-serving CEO Jason Citron, will remain on the company’s board of directors and become an advisor to the CEO.
Citron’s fellow Discord co-founder Stanislav Vishnevskiy will remain chief technology officer.
In a lengthy message shared with Discord workers, Citron said it was essential the company appoint a new leader from a “position of strength.”
“I am thrilled to welcome Humam Sakhnini as the next CEO of Discord. After spending significant time together, I have complete confidence in his ability to lead us into the future alongside Stan and the rest of our executive team,” he wrote.
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Sakhnini brings big name franchise experience to Discord
“Humam brings more than 15 years of experience in the gaming industry, including at Activision Blizzard where he served as Chief Strategy Officer helping guide franchises like World of Warcraft and Call of Duty. He later took over from the founders of King to delight the players of their live service games while substantially growing the King business in the public market.”
That latter detail feels particularly notable given Citron explained Sakhnini was hired to “someday” take Discord public.
Outlining his vision for the platform, Sakhnini described Discord as a “foundational part of the gaming ecosystem” and pledged to scale the business while remaining true to the company’s core vision.
“What Jason and Discord co-founder and CTO Stan Vishnevskiy have built is truly remarkable—a platform with an undeniable product-market fit where hundreds of millions of people connect around their passion for gaming and shared interests,” he added in a separate announcement.
“I look forward to working with Stan and Discord’s talented team to scale our business while staying true to the company’s core mission and the special connection it has with player communities. We’re still at the beginning of gaming’s impact on entertainment and culture, and Discord is perfectly positioned to play a central role in that future.”
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