MindGeek CEO resigns 18 months after Pornhub controversy

UPDATE DAY

The chief executive officer (CEO) and chief operating officer (COO) of MindGeek, the parent company of Pornhub, have resigned after more than a decade at the helm of the pornography giant, The Globe and Mail revealed on Tuesday.

Although they remain shareholders in the company, CEO Feras Antoon and COO Tassilo resigned from their positions on Tuesday. The latter are co-owners of MindGeek along with reclusive Austrian businessman Bernd Bergmair.

In a statement sent to the daily, the porn giant said the transition plan has been underway since the start of the year 2022 and that the management team will “manage day-to-day operations on an interim basis” until replacements for the two management positions are found.

According to two unnamed sources from The Globe, MindGeek is preparing to carry out a wave of layoffs to compensate for the drop in revenue the company has suffered over the past 18 months following a series of allegations of sexual abuse material of children and other non-consensual videos had been posted on Pornhub. Since then, Pornhub and its parent company have received a multitude of lawsuits.

Following these events, Visa and MasterCard cut ties with the company.