Three years after he was brought in as chief executive at e-commerce startup Mpire, Matt Hulett is stepping down and searching for a replacement from the ad industry.

Hulett, a former Expedia, Atom Films and RealNetworks executive, isn't saying yet what his next gig will be other than serving on the board of Mpire.

During his tenure Hulett diversified the company from a comparison shopping site with ties to eBay into what's now primarily an ad network operating under the WidgetBucks brand. WidgetBucks has lately been getting 2 billion ad impressions per month, he said.

The 17-person Seattle company also raised $10 million just before the downturn so it's positioned to keep growing, Hulett said.

"The board and I felt like ... I've checked all those boxes,'' he said. "What I'm focused on now is bringing in a CEO from the ad industry because that's important at this phase."

Hulett's last day as chief executive is Aug. 14. He'll as executive chairman, helping the company with partnerships and business development deals but not day-to-day management.