MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin Maximalist CEO Saylor Hands Job to Deputy, Takes Executive Chairman Role

Business software firm MicroStrategy (MSTR) has appointed Phuong Le, the company’s president, as its new CEO, replacing Michael Saylor, who had served as CEO and chairman of the board since he founded the company in 1989 and took it public in 1998, the company announced Tuesday as part of its second-quarter results.

Saylor, who is a bitcoin maximalist and has been behind MicroStrategy’s strategy of amassing billions of dollars worth of bitcoin, will continue to serve as chairman of the board and will also take on the new role of executive chairman.

“I believe that splitting the roles of Chairman and CEO will enable us to better pursue our two corporate strategies of acquiring and holding bitcoin and growing our enterprise analytics software business,” said Saylor in a statement. “As Executive Chairman I will be able to focus more on our bitcoin acquisition strategy and related bitcoin advocacy initiatives, while Phong will be empowered as CEO to manage overall corporate operations.”

Le has served as MicroStrategy’s President since July 2020 and has also served in various other senior executive positions since joining the company in 2015, including Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer.

MicroStrategy shares were down 2.4% to $272.26in after-hours trading Tuesday. Shares have fallen around 46% year to date, just shy of bitcoin’s roughly 50% drop over the same time period.

MicroStrategy is planning to hold a call with analysts to discuss its second-quarter results at 5 p.m. ET.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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