Aviary, the company that’s been in the news recently for providing the technology behind both Twitter’s new photo-editing filters and Flickr’s much-praised new app, announced Monday that it’s adding a new CEO. Tobias Peggs, formerly the CEO at OneRiot before it was acquired by WalMart, will become CEO at Aviary, while former CEO and founder Avi Muchnick will become the company’s chief product officer.
The company, which launched in September 2011, ALSO announced that it’s technology has been used to edit two billion photos. The company provides a photo-editing SDK that’s been used by companies including Twitter, Yahoo’s Flickr(yhoo), Box, and others. Just last week, Twitter made a splash with the announcement of its new photo-editing and filters, which is powered by Aviary’s SDK, and Flickr’s new photo app also uses that technology.
Muchnick explained Aviary’s growth over the past year, and why he felt it was necessary to bring on a new CEO as the company takes off:
“As we move forward, it has become clear to me that the company’s accelerating growth is now bringing us into territory that is best handled by someone with a very specific set of skills and experiences tailored to match our B2B strategy. Tobias has deep experience managing accelerated growth in B2B startups, which makes him the perfect leader for Aviary as it really takes off.”
But beyond his understanding of our developer-focused business, also importantly, he understands what we are doing emotionally. As a former Managing Editor of i-D Magazine, he has a deep appreciation for photography and creativity, which is critical to our culture and mindset at Aviary.”
And Muchnick explained his own role in the company going forward:
“Going forward, I will be Aviary’s Chief Product Officer, focusing on continuing to make Aviary’s product offering the most innovative and pure solution on the market. And in my continued role as Chairman, I’ll make sure the company course stays true on the path towards democratizing creativity.”
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