Wattpad Co-Founder Allen Lau to Transition to Executive Advisor Role for WEBTOON and Wattpad

With Lau’s Five Year Plan in place and Wattpad President Jeanne Lam at the helm, the company expects continued innovation and  growth

May 9, Toronto - Wattpad today announced that co-founder Allen Lau will step aside as CEO, transitioning into a new role as Executive Advisor for both Wattpad and WEBTOON. Wattpad President Jeanne Lam will assume day-to-day leadership and responsibility for the company’s operations. Lau and Lam will report to Ken Kim, CEO, WEBTOON Americans.

“After spending 15 years at the helm of Wattpad, today I’m stepping aside as CEO and into a new role as Executive Advisor,” said Lau. “With webnovels growing in global popularity and profile, and a world-class leadership team in place, this transition will allow me to lend my expertise in community-building and digital fiction to all WEBTOON brands, while also balancing my work as an investor and board member to some of Canada’s most important technology and cultural institutions.”  

Lau is one of Canada’s most notable innovators. In addition to his continued work with Wattpad and WEBTOON, Lau also runs early stage investment fund Two Small Fish Ventures with Eva Lau, and is on the board of the Toronto International Film Festival as well as the MaRS Discovery District. 

Ken Kim, CEO, WEBTOON Americas, noted Lau’s contributions to the global publishing, entertainment, and technologies industries, “Allen Lau is a visionary leader and entrepreneur who launched the careers of some of the world’s most influential new writers. His work pioneered the webnovel format and social reading experience, and under his leadership, the Wattpad community grew to over 94 million people and one billion uploads.”

Kim added, “I want to thank Allen for his dedication to Wattpad, and look forward to continuing to work together to entertain and connect the world through stories in his new role as Executive Advisor.” 

Since being named as Wattpad’s President last year, Jeanne Lam has led the company through a period of continued global growth and innovation. Lam was elevated to President following Wattpad’s acquisition by Naver in 2021, which aligned the company with digital comics powerhouse WEBTOON. Under Lam’s leadership, Wattpad had record user and revenue growth in 2021.