Former Executives At Netflix And Jack Dorsey's Block Join Discord Ahead Of Latter's Anticipated IPO

Gaming-oriented social media platform Discord, which could potentially hold an initial public offering this year, is shoring up its team by adding executives from Netflix Inc NFLX and Block Inc SQ.

What Happened: Leslie Kilgore, the former chief marketing officer of Netflix and Amrita Ahuja, Block’s former chief financial officer will be joining Discord, according to the latter’s CEO Jason Citron, reported Forbes.

The two executives have “incredible experience building and advising world-class companies,” said Citron, as per the report.

Kilgore, who is leaving Netflix, said on Linkedin she was "proud to join Discord’s board of directors and be part of such a visionary company.”

Ahuja similiarly in a post said she was “looking forward to seeing the innovation as a special platform for 150M people and growing.”

See Also: How To Buy Netflix (NFLX) Stock

Why It Matters: Both Kilgore and Ahuja have worked at public companies, which could be a sign that Discord is contemplating an IPO, noted Forbes. The social media company turned down a $10-billion buyout offer from Microsoft Corporation MSFT to explore IPO plans, as per media reports from last year.

Kilgore was responsible for helping Netflix with its early push in digital subscriptions and worked at the platform between 2002 to 2012.

Ahuja was with Activision Blizzard, Inc ATVI before he worked with Jack Dorsey-led Block, formerly known as Square.

Discord enjoyed a boost from both retail traders and non fungible tokens in recent months, according to a prior report.

The social media, launched in 2015, was valued at $15 billion in August post a funding round led by Dragoneer Investment Group.

Price Action: On Tuesday, Netflix shares traded 7% higher at $457.13 in the regular session and rose 0.5% in the after-hours trading. On the same day, Square shares rose 4.35% higher in the regular session to $127.61 and fell 7.1% to $118.60 in after-hours trading.