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Apple loses director of machine learning over its office return policy
Apple has reportedly lost director of machine learning Ian Goodfellow over its return-to-office policy.
Amazon Games chief Mike Frazzini is leaving the company
Amazon Games Studio head and longtime employee Mike Frazzini is stepping down, he announced in a LinkedIn post.
Nikola founder resigns following SEC probe into electric truck business
Following a fraud accusation by a short firm and potential probe by the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), Nikola founder Trevor Milton is stepping down as executive chairman.
HTC CEO Yves Maitre resigns after less than a year
HTC President and CEO Yves Maitre has resigned due to personal reasons, and chairwoman Cher Wang is back in charge.
ASUS CEO resigns as company shifts mobile focus to power users
Earlier today, ASUS announced that long-time CEO Jerry Shen is stepping down ahead of "a comprehensive corporate transformation" -- part of which involving a new co-CEO structure, as well as a major shift in mobile strategy to focus on gamers and power users. In other words, we'll be seeing more ROG Phones and maybe fewer ZenFones, which is a way to admit defeat in what ASUS chairman Jonney Shih described as a "bloody battlefield" in his interview with Business Next.
Intel CEO resigns over ‘relationship’ with employee
Intel CEO and board member Brian Krzanich will step down from his role at the company, effective immediately. In a statement, Intel said that it had been recently informed of a "past consensual relationship" with a company employee. After an investigation by both internal and external counsel, officials have confirmed that the relationship violated Intel's non-fraternization policy.
HTC smartphone president Chialin Chang has resigned
Not long after letting go of its Pixel team in exchange for some much needed cash from Google, HTC is now also losing its smartphone lead. Chialin Chang, who joined the company as CFO back in April 2012, has immediately resigned as the President of Smartphone and Connected Devices Business due to "personal career plan," according to HTC. There's no word on who will take over this role, which basically means more work for Chairwoman and CEO Cher Wang until she finds a replacement, if any.
Marissa Mayer to resign from Yahoo's board of directors
Marissa Mayer has been virtually synonymous with Yahoo ever since she took the helm, but things are about to get a bit muddier now that the Verizon's acquisition is near closing. Yahoo has announced that Mayer, co-founder David Filo and four other people are resigning from the company's board of directors once Verizon officially takes control. According to the SEC filing, it's "not due to any disagreement" with how the business is run -- it's just that Yahoo will technically be considered an investment company once the buyout wraps up, and doesn't believe it needs more than five people on its board after that.
National Intelligence director James Clapper stepping down in January
While it doesn't come as a surprise, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has submitted his resignation effective at the end of the Obama administration in January. Clapper said multiple times over the last year that he planned to resign at the end of President Obama's second term and today he made it official. The intelligence chief has explained that after 50 years of service, it was time for him to step down.
Vertu's sudden CEO swap spells trouble after Chinese buyout
It's only been three months since we met Vertu's then freshly-appointed CEO Billy Crotty, an Irishman who was brought in by the company's new Chinese owner, but for reasons unknown, it appears that he's already left the luxury phone maker. That's according to the LinkedIn page of Gordon Watson, who has since been promoted from VP of Sales and Marketing to CEO. Needless to say, it's an unusually short stint for such an important role, though there were already signs of trouble beforehand with the recent departures of other key execs.
HTC's lead designer leaves after less than a year
For a tech company that places so much emphasis on design, we can't help but think something's up when one of the key designers leaves. Today, we bring you the sad news that HTC's VP of Industrial Design, Jonah Becker, has announced his departure on Twitter. To our surprise, that's less than a year after he picked up from where his predecessor Scott Croyle left off. With Croyle and Becker gone, this leaves Claude Zellweger the last remaining principal of One & Co -- the design firm that HTC acquired back in late 2008 -- running the design team at the smartphone company. According to a statement from HTC, Becker has been succeeded by Creative Director Daniel Hundt, who happens to look a lot like Apple's Jony Ive. Hundt's focus is on smartphones while Zellweger continues to work on "connected products," which include the RE Vive and the RE Camera.
Target CEO steps down in aftermath of customer data breach
The fallout from Target's massive customer data breach continues: following the departure of the retailer's chief information officer in March, CEO Gregg Steinhafel has stepped down. The executive feels he's "personally accountable" for the lax security that let the breach happen, and is bowing out after "extensive discussions" with the board of directors. He'll hang on as an advisor while Target looks for a replacement, and CFO John Mulligan will run the company in the interim.
Square Enix marketing VP Karl Stewart leaves company
Former Square Enix vice-president of marketing Karl Stewart announced his departure from the company after eight years of service, and he'll begin a new job at the Burbank-based Petrol Advertising agency in April. Stewart worked in recent years at Crystal Dynamics and was one of the key figures driving the Tomb Raider reboot, which despite rumblings at a boardroom level went on to be a hit both with critics and at retailers. Stewart revealed his departure publicly in a blog post this week, in which he thanked his former employer by giving it a glowing recommendation "Square Enix is an amazing company," Stewart wrote, "whether you work for one of its studios or publishing arms, or if you're thinking of joining, this company has given me the opportunity to grow and do what I love to do best, work in creative and ridiculously talented company at the heart of the video game industry. The potential for opportunity and growth at Square Enix is limitless." Stewart will now bring his expertise to Petrol, an advertising agency that over the last decade has amassed a client list brimming with big-name games companies. "For the last 8 years I have worked with [co-founders] Alan [Hunter] and Ben [Granados] at Petrol on many different projects, from Batman to Tomb Raider to Thief, and on every occasion they've blown me away with their vision and creativity," Stewart explained. "So when the conversation started about joining the company which they've both worked extremely hard to develop and grow, there was no doubt in my mind this was the right next step for me, as they both think the same way I do. I'm all about experiences, and this is the new experience I'm looking for right now." [Image: Square Enix]
Microsoft multimedia exec Blair Westlake resigns
The man who oversaw Microsoft's licensing of TV, movies, and music for services including Xbox is no longer at the company. As Variety reports, former Corporate VP of Media & Entertainment Blair Westlake said Microsoft's future plans didn't align with his expertise. "It has become clear to me the organization is moving in a direction that does not fit either my expertise or my skill sets," reads Westlake's statement to Variety. "Over the last few months Microsoft has been undergoing a large-scale reorganization. During that period, I have had the privilege of working with numerous talented and professional people. While I will miss their company and our interaction, I truly believe that this move is in the best interest of all parties concerned. I want to thank my talented and committed team, as well as Yusuf Mehdi, Robbie Bach, Will Poole and Hank Vigil, all of whom had a significant and positive impact on me during my tenure at Microsoft." Westlake joined Microsoft in August 2004 after a long career in Hollywood, having consulted for Comcast and NBC Universal, and chaired Universal Studios' Television & Networks group. At Microsoft, Westlake liaised with TV, film, and music industries, and helped push Xbox towards becoming an all-in-one games and entertainment hub. That push continues in 2014 with original programming coming to Xbox, which President of Entertainment & Digtial Media Nancy Tellem has overseen since joining the company in 2012. Meanwhile, Microsoft is still looking for a CEO to succeed the retiring Steve Ballmer.
John Carmack leaves id Software to focus on Oculus VR
For veteran gamers who enjoyed Doom and Quake, it's the end of an era -- id Software co-founder John Carmack has left the game studio to concentrate all his efforts on his Chief Technical Officer role at Oculus VR. It was just too "challenging" to divide attention between the two companies, he explains. id's Tim Willits says in a statement that the departure won't affect any existing projects, but it does leave the firm without the insights of one of the game industry's brightest programmers. However, his exit is good news for VR fans; Carmack can now pour all his energy into developing cutting edge wearable displays. Check out our recent video interview with him after the break.
Acer's next CEO steps down before even starting, as retired founder takes over
It's all change at Acer at the moment. Just 15 days after CEO and Chairman JT Wang stepped down, the man set to replace him, Jim Wong, has also left the business. The changes come after Acer posted a huge loss and wrote-off value from sub-brands Gateway and Packard Bell, apparently sealing the fate of the executives. In the wake of the news, founder Stan Shih will come out of retirement and assume the role of chairman and interim president "without salary," with co-founder George Huang joining the new-look old-school management team. Following today's reshuffle, Shih will have to make day-to-day decisions for the company. While Wang and Wong may have taken the blame for Acer's recent poor performance, both will hang around "to ensure a smooth transition."
WildStar Community Director Troy Hewitt announces departure from Carbine
It's a sad day for the WildStar community. Carbine's Community Director Troy "Aether" Hewitt announced today in a post on the WildStar site that he is stepping down from his position and leaving the studio. He confides in the community the reason for his departure: "Without going into too much detail, recent tragedies in my family require that I return home to be closer to my family [...] It was a decision I can only define as agonizing, but in the end, my family needs me." While this may be disheartening news for many fans, Hewitt is confident that he leaves the community in capable hands. In addition to the North American and European community teams, Hewitt specifically mentions three "forever friends of [his] and industry leaders in their craft" that will be taking care of the community in his absence: Carbine's new VP of Brand, Mona Hamilton; Director of Interactive Marketing, Christophe Bahamed; and new PR Manager, Michael Shelling. In closing, Hewitt tells fans, "While this is goodbye for now, I guarantee you that we'll be playing WildStar together on launch day."
Former Eidos Montreal GM leaves Square Enix, citing 'irreconcilable' differences
Former Eidos Montreal studio head Stephane D'Astous has resigned from Square Enix, criticizing the company's "lack of leadership, lack of courage and lack of communication." "Since last year's financial short-coming performance of Square Enix Europe, we (HQ London and GM Eidos-Montreal) have had growing and divergent opinions on what needed to be done to correct the situation," D'Astous told Develop. "The lack of leadership, lack of courage and the lack of communication were so evident, that I wasn't able to conduct my job correctly. I realised that our differences were irreconcilable, and that the best decision was unfortunately to part ways." D'Astous was ousted from his leadership role during a Square Enix managerial shakeup in June, and was replaced by Deus Ex: Human Revolution executive producer David Anfossi. Following the corporate restructuring effort, Square Enix representatives told Develop that D'Astous had "taken on a new project in the company working directly with [current Square Enix head of studios] Darrell Gallagher across our studios focusing on cross studio operations."
BlackBerry reportedly loses execs responsible for social apps, BB10 Hub
BlackBerry has had trouble retaining executives as of late, and its situation may not be getting much better when the Wall Street Journal claims that two software overseers recently left the company. T.A. McCann (pictured at left), a VP who oversaw BBM and social networking apps, reportedly said goodbye two weeks ago. Marc Gingras (right), who masterminded the BlackBerry 10 Hub and came with the Tungle.me acquisition, supposedly quit in "recent weeks." BlackBerry hasn't commented on the rumored exits, although the Journal believes that both McCann and Gingras left voluntarily. If real, the departures aren't coming at a good time -- BlackBerry is in rough financial straits, and it needs executives willing to turn the ship around. [Gingras image credit: Kris Krüg, Flickr]
Rod Fergusson preps to leave Irrational Games
Rod Fergusson, former Director of Production at Epic Games, is soon to be the former VP of Development at BioShock Infinite developer Irrational Games, Polygon reports. Fergusson joined Irrational in August to help finish up work on BioShock Infinite, a game that shipped to widespread critical acclaim on March 26. Now he's in the process of leaving Irrational."I am very proud of the work that I did and of the team and what they were able to accomplish on Infinite," Fergusson says. "Now with the game shipped successfully, I've done what I set out to do here and now I'm looking forward to the next chapter in my life and career."When Fergusson joined Irrational, he followed a trail of major departures from the studio, including Art Director Nate Wells and Design Lead Jeff McGann. There's no word on what Fergusson's next move will be.
