Social Chain co-founders Steve Bartlett and Dominic McGregor have left the business.
The duo has been at the helm of the Manchester-headquartered social media marketing agency for six years and achieved a reach of more than two billion views per month.
The company has around 750 employees with locations in Manchester, Berlin, London, New York and Munich, and works with world leading brands such as Amazon, Coca Cola and Apple.
In October 2019, Social Chain merged with Lumaland AG to form The Social Chain AG and list on XETRA and the Düsseldorf Stock Exchange.
The company recently announced the largest acquisition in its history as it prepares to take a 51 percent majority stake in A4D Inc and posted a forecast of €200m for 2020.
Bartlett said: “Social Chain was conceived on a small desk in the backroom of the uni I had just dropped out of in Manchester. I was 20, full of wild dreams, and I believed we could take on the world.
“What started as a crazy and sometimes ridiculed idea in the mind of a few drop-out underdogs, at a time when people didn’t believe in the potential of this new thing called social media, turned into the most unforgettable ride of a lifetime.
“As I write this, at 27, we have more than 700 Social Chainers around the world, a world-beating team, we went public last year, we are the best at what we do, and we’ve just posted record numbers.
“The company is showing unbelievable momentum and I remain Social Chain’s biggest fan, supporter, and believer.
“I owe an unpayable debt of gratitude to my team, past and present. If it wasn’t for you (and mum and dad), I would be nothing.
“As a fairly public CEO, I’ve unavoidably taken an unfair amount of credit for what we achieved together.
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart, and thank you to all of you that have supported and believed in me.”
McGregor added: “I’m incredibly proud of everything that we’ve achieved, the relationships we’ve made and the lessons learnt.
“I’m so lucky to have shared this journey with the people I have – there’s no doubt in my mind that those lifelong friendships will withstand the test of time.
“Social Chain is a very special company, the growth we’ve seen over the last six years has been quite frankly phenomenal, we recently posted record numbers, and based on some of the exciting things I’ve seen over the last year, the future promises to be even brighter than the past.
“This business has been my rock, even when I faced difficult times in my personal life. The purpose it gave me, and the people I worked with got me through – they gave me something to fight for and without it, and without them, I wouldn’t be the person I am today.
“To all our team past and present, clients, investors and anyone who has ever supported us – a personal thank you for everything.”
Wanja S. Oberhof, currently Co-CEO of Social Chain AG will retain his position as CEO.
Social media