Reid Hoffman, who stepped in the CEO of LinkedIn only six months ago, has stepped down again, and Jeff Weiner, the former Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) exec who has been interim president at the company for those six months, is the business social network’s new CEO. Weiner has also joined the board; previously he had been EVP of Yahoo, running its network division, and left a year ago to do a brief stint as an EIR at Accel Partners and Greylock Partners, before joining LinkedIn in January of this year as interim President.

With this latest change, Hoffman says he will still be involved day-to-day but focused in his role as founder and executive chairman. Over the last six months, Weiner had taken over all operations and expansion plans globally, so this was a natural progression, or so says Hoffman.

He clarified to Kara that this is not a prelude to an IPO, something that has been talked about in the past for the company, though with this much war chest of money and the market being what it is, they may wait till next year. LinkedIn, which did a round of layoffs late last year, says it was profitable last year and is on track to be the same this year as well. It has raised a total of about $100 million, and its last round of $27 million in October last year helped push its valuation to about $1 billion.

Hoffman’s own blog post about the change, here.
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LinkedIn Names Jeff Weiner Chief Executive Officer

Co-Founder Reid Hoffman Continues as Executive Chairman

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, today announced that Jeff Weiner has been named LinkedIn’s chief executive officer and appointed to the board of directors. Reid Hoffman will remain focused on LinkedIn in his day-to-day role as founder and executive chairman.

Since joining LinkedIn as interim president in January 2009, Weiner has overseen all operations and played a defining role in developing and executing the company’s strategy to address the accelerating demand for LinkedIn’s products and services on a global basis. “Working closely with Reid and the team over the past six months exceeded all of my expectations coming into the company,” said Weiner. “I couldn’t be more excited about our progress to date, and the opportunity ahead of us.”

“LinkedIn was founded to harness the power of the internet to create a tool that would help individuals become more effective and successful professionals,” said Reid Hoffman, co-founder and executive chairman, LinkedIn. “Over the past six months, Jeff has done an exceptional job leading the company and I look forward to continuing the work that we have begun together.”

In the past year, LinkedIn has achieved records across virtually all key operating and financial metrics, most recently exceeding 42 million global members. LinkedIn has an established business model with three lines of revenue, including premium subscriptions, corporate solutions and advertising. The company operated profitably in 2008 and is expected to be profitable in 2009. LinkedIn has secured more than $100 million in funding from some of the world’s premiere investors.

Weiner brings more than 14 years of consumer web experience to the position. Prior to joining LinkedIn as interim president, Weiner was executive in residence at Accel Partners and Greylock Partners. He had previously held key leadership roles at Yahoo!, most recently serving as executive vice president of Yahoo!’s Network Division with responsibility for Yahoo!’s consumer web product portfolio, including Yahoo!’s Front Page, Mail, Search and Media products. In addition to LinkedIn, Weiner serves on the boards of DonorsChoose.org and Malaria No More. For more information, please see Jeff Weiner’s LinkedIn profile at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffweiner08.

About LinkedIn

LinkedIn takes your personal business network online, giving you access to people, jobs and opportunities like never before. Built upon trusted connections and relationships, LinkedIn has established the world’s largest and most powerful professional network. Currently, over 42 million professionals are on LinkedIn, representing all five hundred of the Fortune 500 companies, as well as a wide range of household names in technology, financial services, media, consumer packaged goods, entertainment, fashion, and numerous other industries. LinkedIn is backed by world-class investors including Sequoia Capital, Greylock Partners, the European Founders Fund, Bessemer Venture Partners, Bain Capital Ventures, Goldman Sachs, The McGraw-Hill (NYSE: MHP) Companies, and SAP Ventures.

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