Ring founder Jamie Siminoff announced that he is stepping down as CEO of the company five years after it was picked up by Amazon. The inventor of the popular video doorbell says that invention is his true passion so he plans on creating new products for Ring as its chief inventor. Discord COO Liz Hamren has been named the new chief exec at Ring. “Liz has a long history in consumer devices and subscription services, building and launching some of the most innovative and beloved consumer products from Oculus to Xbox and more,” wrote Siminoff in a company blog post.

Hamren “will also head up the Blink, Amazon Key and Amazon Sidewalk divisions,” according to Engadget. The Ring team was made aware of the planned transition last year.

Ring has grown rapidly and now offers a range of smart home and related devices, including alarms, cameras and drones. “Amazon acquired the company” five years ago, notes Engadget, “in a bid to take Nest head on, allowing Ring to scale up its production” and reach new customers.

In recent years, the company changed the way it addresses video requests from law enforcement after it came under scrutiny regarding privacy concerns. The transition from CEO to inventor will allow Siminoff to focus on products rather than business issues.

“I hope to write a post 10 years from now looking back on how we continued to embrace change and expanded our mission and impact,” he concluded in his blog message. “Until then, it’s back to work for me.”

Related:
Ring Is Requiring a Subscription for More Camera and Alarm Features, The Verge, 3/3/23