• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, November 30, 2017

Pinterest is losing its president, Tim Kendall, at the end of the year.

“Tim Kendall is leaving Pinterest after nearly six years to start his own venture,” a company spokesman said on Thursday. That venture just happens to be a healthcare company focused on device addiction.

Asked whether Kendall’s venture could challenge Pinterest, and other mostly mobile services that rely on heavy consumer engagement, the spokesman said: “Its early, and we don’t have a lot of details to share on how it could relate to consumer internet services.”

Kendall was not made available to address the potential conflict by press time. After his departure, however, Kendall is expected to continue to serve as an advisor to the company, as well as remain a shareholder.

Taking Kendall’s place will be Jon Alferness, Pinterest’s current senior vice president for ads and commerce.

Alferness has only been with Pinterest since August. Previously, he spent 13 years at Google, where he ultimately served as vice president of product management and head of the search giant’s shopping and travel products.

The news of Kendall’s planned parting -- first reported by Recode -- comes at a critical time for Pinterest. The company is trying to cement its position in consumers’ lives and advertisers’ balance sheets.

Investors continue to watch for signs that Pinterest is preparing to go public. Fueling their interest, the company recently brought on Todd Morgenfeld -- formerly VP of finance at Twitter -- as its first CFO.

Moving closer into the mainstream, Pinterest debuted its first ad campaign. Revolving around the broad question “What if?” the effort was designed to position the pin-based social network as the perfect platform to take risk and visualize ideas, big and small.

This year, Pinterest is reportedly targeting roughly $500 million in ad revenue.