ChiefExecutiveOfficer
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Jolla's Marc Dillon takes over as CEO, Jussi Hurmola to focus on Sailfish
Following big news from Jolla almost two weeks ago, it's reluctant to go quiet, instead taking to Twitter to announce that Jussi Hurmola is no longer its CEO. This isn't a story of scandal or corporate dissent, but merely a restructuring to allow Hurmola to focus on Sailfish, the MeeGo-based OS currently in development. It's no great surprise that Marc Dillon is stepping up to be the new big cheese -- he's another of the company's founders and was acting COO prior to the shuffle. Sailfish is due to be demoed for the first time in a little over a month, where we imagine Hurmola will be eager to flaunt its progress now that he's managed to palm off all that paperwork.
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."
Larry Page takes over as Google CEO today, ready to show Tim Cook how it's done
The Page-machine, the Larry-meister, the chief of all Google execs. As announced in late January, Google's top decision-making position is today changing hands from the trusty grip of Eric Schmidt to the slightly less proven hold of co-founder Larry Page. Monsieur Page should be familiar with the role, having performed it until Schmidt was hired back in 2001, but the Google of a decade ago was quite a different beast from the multi-tentacled, omnipresent one it is today. It's probably a good thing, then, that Schmidt is remaining on Google's board in the role of Executive Chairman, with a focus on outward-facing deals and partnerships, while Page takes care of strategic and product development decisions. The other original Google gangster, Sergey Brin, is still a big part of the company's triumvirate at the top, but his attention will be dedicated to developing new projects -- things like that gigabit broadband network Google's just started building in Kansas City, Kansas. As to us, our undivided focus will be placed on coming up with fresh "do no evil" jokes.
