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HBO boss Bill Nelson announces retirement, Richard Plepler will assume the throne
After five years as king of the HBO castle, CEO Bill Nelson has announced he's leaving the company to retire at the end of the year. During Nelson's near 30-year career, he bounced through a string of corporate roles before becoming top dog in 2007, subsequently overseeing the launch of the digital service HBO Go. While it might be impossible to replace such a commanding moustache, we're sure current co-President Richard Plepler will do a fine job when he takes the helm. He's responsible (in part) for bringing shows like Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones to our screens, after all. Enjoy your retirement Bill, and be glad you left on your own terms -- some aren't so fortunate.
Fisker lands former GM exec and Chevy Volt guru Tony Posawatz as CEO
Fisker hasn't had what you'd call the best year so far, but it may have found the ticket to turning its hybrid vehicle business around. Meet Tony Posawatz, Fisker's new CEO -- and, until just weeks ago, GM's Vehicle Line Director. Despite being the second new chief executive at Fisker since Tom LaSorda arrived in February, Posawatz needs little explanation for his sudden rise to power. He's an original member of the Chevy Volt leadership structure and could very well know a thing or two about developing a hybrid car from start to finish. His influence might only be keenly felt when the Atlantic wheels its way towards driveways in 2014, but there's no doubt he's onboard to right the good ship Karma and improve Fisker's reputation in the short term. We wouldn't want to be in GM's shoes as it watches one of its EV-friendly veterans so publicly jump ship, however.
Yahoo appoints former Google exec Marissa Mayer as CEO
As a top executive and employee number 20 at Google, there wasn't necessarily a tremendous opportunity for growth at the Mountain View search giant. That may explain Marissa Mayer's recent decision to jump ship in favor of joining Yahoo as the company's chief executive -- a role the former Google VP of Local, Maps and Location Services plans to assume tomorrow. Mayer joined Google way back in June of 1999 as the company's first female engineer, and remained employed until her resignation earlier today. There's no question that Yahoo will be in good hands -- its new CEO does in fact have a degree in computer science -- but the company's future still remains in question, following a clear inability to catch up to its chief competition.
T-Mobile USA's former CEO Phillipp Humm to become chief executive at Vodafone on October 1st
Less than 24 hours after the unexpected news that Phillipp Humm had penned his resignation as T-Mobile USA's CEO, Reuters is now reporting he himself has said a chief executive position awaits him at Vodafone. As you may know, this comes after the Magenta carrier had stated Humm would be leaving to reunite with his family back in the Old Continent, and seek a new career outside of Deutsche Telekom. According to the report, Phillipp Humm's new role will be as a chief executive for Vodafone's operations in northern and central Europe, which is set to begin as early as October 1st. Naturally, Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao seems to be quite satisfied with Humm's upcoming arrival, saying it "will be a strong addition to the Vodafone group executive committee."
Samsung appoints components boss Kwon Oh-hyun as new CEO
Vice Chairman Kwon Oh-hyun is about to become a very busy man, having been tasked with handling "corporate-wide affairs" as Samsung's new CEO while also continuing at the helm of the manufacturer's components business. He'll replace current CEO Choi Gee-sung, who'll take on a role looking for "future growth engines" as the head of the Samsung Group Corporate Strategy Office -- at least once his new XL business cards arrive from the printers. Other top-level positions look relatively stable at this point, with Jay Lee (the son of the current Samsung Electronics chairman, Lee Kun-hee) staying on as chief operations officer.
IBM announces Virginia Rometty as new CEO
IBM's board of directors have announced that Virginia M. Rometty will be taking over as CEO of the company in 2012, succeeding current chief Samuel Palmisano. Palmisano will stay on as chairman of the board, but at the end of the year will hand over the reins to Rometty who will become one of a few, but growing number of female chief executives (alongside Meg Whitman) in the tech industry. During her roughly decade long tenure with the company she has spearheaded the push into the services industry and in 2009 became senior vice president of sales, marketing and strategy, leading the charge into markets like China and India. The 54-year-old Rometty will look to continue Palmisano's success, which has seen IBM become the second most valuable tech company in the world, just ahead of Microsoft and right behind Apple. Check out the full PR after the break.
