Three of Demand Media’s co-founders, Larry Fitzgibbon, Joe Perez and Steve Kydd, are leaving the company, TheWrap has confirmed.
The content farm went public last year, and since then its stock has plunged in value from $20 to about $7.
All three departing execs served as executive vice presidents, overseeing different element of content production, but their responsibilities will now be assumed by one man — Michael Blend, EVP of Media and Marketplace.
Demand spokeswoman Kristen Moore said that the organization would now be more streamlined with one exec overseeing all three operations.
Also read: Jay Rosen on Content Farms: Demand Media Not Evil, But Still Demonic
CEO Richard Rosenblatt and the other two founders remain at the company.
“It’s just a natural evolution,” Moore told TheWrap. “Obviously we went public last January and they’ve been on board for several years. It’s just a natural time for them to move on and look at other ventures.”
Moore said the departing execs are “all very entrepreneurial people” and that now that they worked for a 650-person company, a public company, “they were ready to move on.”
Despite a deal with YouTube as part of its new content initiative, Demand has fallen on hard times since its IPO. After debuting with a stock north of $20, it has sunk to 6.73 as of Monday.
Demand reports its fourth quarter results Feb. 16. Back in November, the company reported revenue gains but also greater losses for its third quarter.
PaidContent first reported the story.