Negroponte looking for CEO to replace him at OLPC

After a stay that's been anything but uneventful, OLPC founder Nicholas Negroponte has announced that he'll be stepping down as CEO of the organization, and that he's now searching for a successor, although he'll be staying on as Chairman. That word comes from an interview Negroponte gave to BusinessWeek, where he admitted that "management, administration, and details are my weaknesses," and even went so far as to say that the organization needs to be managed "more like Microsoft." He also revealed that the search for a new CEO had actually begun last year, but had ratcheted up in recent weeks, during which time the organization was also reorganized into four operating units, including technology, deployment, market development and fund-raising, and administration. No word on any contenders for the top spot just yet, but Nick Neg described the ideal candidate as someone with a "leadership profile similar to that of Kofi Annan," adding that he hopes to have the search concluded by April or May.

[Itchy Pajamas @ Mar 6th 2008 3:12PM]

Hey Nick, stop in shipping on your way out the door and drop my Buy1Get1 in the mail!

[Wes @ Mar 6th 2008 3:15PM]

I'm confused.... what does this have to do with the Iphone SDK?

[Raheem @ Mar 6th 2008 3:16PM]

Lmao, you actually beat me to it :(

[fred @ Mar 6th 2008 3:23PM]

"I'm confused.... what does this have to do with the Iphone SDK?"

Can we get 10 posts about the OLPC?

[tekdroid @ Mar 6th 2008 3:22PM]

Article sez:
"He is on leave from his post at the MIT Media Lab and has not collected a salary from OLPC."
-------
He is not getting paid for working on OLPC?

[andy @ Mar 6th 2008 3:26PM]

Leadership like Kofi Annan?


Oil for food?


Such vision and leadership? He saw him and his buddies getting richer and led them there, so I guess it does qualify as vision and leadership technically, but I'd pick a better role model.

[TJ Johnson @ Mar 6th 2008 3:42PM]

"management, administration, and details are my weaknesses"

So what, exactly, did he have to offer as CEO? Seems to me that we should have been reading this article sometime last year.

[Miguel @ Mar 6th 2008 4:05PM]

Kofi Annan? Really?

Dear Nick Neg:

"Management, administration and details" are weaknesses of Kofi Annan, too, along with integrity, trust and a penchant for stating the glaringly obvious without actually doing something about it. Maybe you should be searching out someone who understands that before we can give OLPC, we should find someone who understands food, shelter and medical care for every kid.

Sincerely,

A Concerned Individual

[tekdroid @ Mar 6th 2008 4:09PM]

...but we lost Mother Theresa, and according to the article, OLPC project lost its 'Mother Theresa' status

...so our expectations need to be lowered ;)

[mcheddadi @ Mar 6th 2008 4:43PM]

is it just me or his name sounds funny? Negroponte lol

[phanbouy @ Mar 6th 2008 6:26PM]

just you

[ManekiNeko @ Mar 6th 2008 5:08PM]

This guy looks like Robert Wagner. Watch an infomercial sometime if you don't know who that is.

[Ben @ Mar 6th 2008 6:36PM]

Ethan Zuckerman should take his place!
http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/

REALLY!

[Rocketboy @ Mar 7th 2008 2:05PM]

"I've lost" - Nick Negroponte.

[George Snell @ Mar 21st 2008 3:19PM]

I do volunteer PR work for OLPC from Racepoint Group.

It should be noted that Nicholas is not - nor has he ever been - CEO of OLPC. He's the founder and chairman. So he's not looking for a replacement for himself nor has he stepped down. The position of CEO is a new position and Nicholas will remain as chairman.

[MPH @ May 10th 2008 6:00AM]

Even if Nicholas Negroponte was somehow magically able to get 200 million laptops into Africa at absolutely no cost to anyone, the program would still fail. The laptops are cool and might be worth buying in their own right -- but the greatest technology in the world will not turn the continent around. Prosperity is not built on technology -- it is built on a platform of fundamental human rights. Only when mainstream reformers understand this will they be able to help institute real growth in Africa.