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Head of Xbox Japan resigns following weak Xbox One sales
Takashi Sensui is resigning from his role as head of Xbox Japan, according to Kotaku's translation of a report from Famitsu. Sensui has held his status since 2006, but rather than departing from Microsoft entirely, Kotaku reports he will support Xbox Japan and serve as General Manager for the Interactive Entertainment Business from Microsoft's US headquarters. Replacing Sensui's role will be a collaborative effort between Yoshinami Takahashi, general manager of the Consumer and Partner Group, and Nobuyoshi Yokoi, boss of the Consumer and Partner Group Retail Business. Kotaku notes this is part of a reorganization effort within Xbox Japan. The Xbox One only managed to move 23,562 units during the first week of its September debut in Japan, and adding up Media Create's weekly hardware sales data (as compiled in our weekly Stiq Figures series) puts the console at more than 38,000 for lifetime Japanese sales. In comparison, the PlayStation 4 cleared 322,000 units within its first two days in Japan, while the Wii U moved 308,570 during its Japanese launch. The Xbox family has previously faced uphill battles in the region – for example, it took the Xbox 360 almost six years to surpass 1.5 million units in Japan. [Image: Microsoft]
HTC senior execs resign ahead of smart wearable launch
HTC may be back on its road to recovery thanks to its One (M8) flagship phone, but it's now facing yet another managerial change. According to Bloomberg's Tim Culpan, the phone maker's marketing chief Ben Ho has just resigned, making it a rather short stint since he joined a little over a year and a half ago. Our own sources implied that this had been expected for a while, and that the $1 billion "Here's To Change" marketing campaign was the main culprit, as it failed to get its money's worth in return (despite chairwoman Cher Wang being a big fan of the hipster trolls featured in the ads). While Ho has already been relieved of CMO duties, he will remain at HTC until end of this year.
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.
EA CEO John Riccitiello resigns
John Riccitiello, CEO of Electronic Arts, has submitted his resignation today. According to a public statement by EA board chairman Larry Probst, Riccitiello's last day will be March 30, and Probst will serve as the executive chairman through the transition as the board searches for a new CEO candidate. Of course, the statement goes on to proclaim EA's "rock solid" strategy and future, as this news could certainly work against the company's reputation. Or, it could mean a bright new future with a new leader at the helm. Let us know in the comments below what you think about Riccitiello's resignation and what it could mean for EA's future. [Update: Stockholders are happy with Riccitiello's resignation as shown by a jump in EA stock.]
LucasArts President Paul Meegan leaves the company
LucasArts President Paul Meegan has decide to vacate his position at the House that Star Wars Built. COO Mich Chau says that the company wishes Meegan "the best in his future endeavors," and "will be re-evaluating LucasArts' leadership needs" in the future. This is the second big exit from LucasArts this summer: Creative Lead Clint Hocking also left the studio just recently. Meegan replaced Darrell Rodriguez, who, like Meegan, left the company after two years as president.Meegan's LinkedIn page now lists him as a "CEO/President, Entrepreneur," and a "Change Agent," apparently looking for a new company. Considering Meegan helped found Epic Games China and has overseen studios at Ubisoft and Jaleco in the past, we're sure he'll land on his feet.
T-Mobile US CEO Philipp Humm resigns, Jim Alling takes over as interim CEO
Philipp Humm, the CEO of T-Mobile US, has resigned, according to a report from All Things D. While no official reason has been given, an official statement given to the publication tells us that Humm is heading back to Europe to be with his family and will look for a career outside of Deutsche Telekom. We're still waiting to receive the full statement from T-Mobile, and will update this post as we get more information. Update: We just received the official press release, which you can peruse below. Jim Alling, COO of T-Mobile US, will be the new interim CEO while a search for Humm's replacement is underway.
T-Mobile USA's chief marketing officer, Cole Brodman, calls it quits
Maybe he's finished running with the underdog, or maybe he's just done with the corporate gig altogether, but one thing is certain: as of May 25th, Cole Brodman will mark his exit from T-Mobile. For the past two years, Mr. Brodman has served as the carrier's chief marketing officer, and his departure concludes 17 years with the company. During his tenure, Cole Brodman railed against the subsidized handset game, helped drive the adoption of smartphones and -- sadly -- crushed our dreams for the potential of a Magenta-branded iPhone. He must also claim at least partial responsibility for the carrier's net loss of customers in 2011, with a total of 802,000 subscribers jumping ship in Q4 alone. One thing is certain of Mr. Brodman's exit, however: he seems content with the decision. Likening the move to a retirement, he remarked, "It's an opportunity to step away, get a break and start to think about how I want to do something next." Andrew Sherrard will replace Cole Brodman as T-Mobile's interim chief marketing officer while the company searches for a permanent replacement. So long, Mr. Brodman, and thanks for the smartphones. [Cole Brodman photo via CNET]
Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn unexpectedly resigns, Mike Mikan takes over
From humble beginnings as a sales associate in 1985 with no college education Brian Dunn climbed the corporate ladder at Best Buy, eventually finding himself at the top of the food chain in 2009 when he took over as CEO. Unfortunately, for this rags-to-riches poster-boy, his reign has come to an end. Dunn and BBY announced today that the long-time employee will be stepping down from his position as chief executive and will be replaced in the interim by board member Mike Mikan. The big box retailer said in a statement that the agreement was mutual and the decision had nothing to do with any disagreements with Dunn regarding "operations, financial controls, policies or procedures." However, with the company struggling so mightily, it's hard to believe that rash of store closings and poor fiscal performance are unrelated to the decision that it's "time for new leadership." Full PR after the break.Update: According to the Wall Street Journal, the company has stated his resignation took place during an investigation into "certain issues" with Dunn's personal conduct.
Steve Jobs resigns as CEO of Apple
A major development out of Cupertino: Apple CEO Steve Jobs has stepped down, the board naming Tim Cook as his replacement. The company said "Steve's extraordinary vision and leadership saved Apple and guided it to its position as the world's most innovative and valuable technology company." Steve himself published the following letter: I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come. I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee. As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple. I believe Apple's brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role. I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you. Steve Apple has confirmed that Jobs will stay on as Chairman. Full details in the PR after the break.
HTC exec Horace Luke leaves company for 'personal reasons'
HTC is out a top executive with the departure of chief innovation officer Horace Luke. The exec has been gone for some time now, having exited at the end of April. The Taiwanese phone maker formally announced the news this week, citing "personal reasons" as the motivation behind the CIO's exit. HTC had nothing but kind words for Luke, who had been with the company since 2006, stating that he had "nurtured a culture of innovation." The company's vice president of design, Scott Croyle, has stepped into the Luke's vacant position.
Acer CEO and President Gianfranco Lanci resigns amid disagreement about company's future direction
Acer's board and CEO don't seem to have been getting along too brilliantly lately and now the situation's come to a point with the resignation of one Mr. Gianfranco Lanci from the company's helm. In a press release just distributed, Acer points out that Lanci held different views from the majority of board members about the "importance on scale, growth, customer value creation, brand position enhancement, and on resource allocation and methods of implementation." Following a few months of discussions that failed to deliver a consensus, both parties have decided it's best to part ways. For now, things continue as normal with Acer's goal still being globalization of its product portfolio, whose centerpiece will remain the personal computer, according to Chairman JT Wang. He'll be the man to take over for Lanci while Acer seeks out a replacement for the outspoken Italian.
Anand Chandrasekher resigns from Intel after 24 years, leaves scandal mongers hanging
Well, as tech industry resignations go, this one's not exactly sensational, but Anand Chandrasekher's plan to leave Intel is no doubt a popular topic of conversation with chip makers this week. The chief of the company's Ultra Mobility Group (UMG) and the man behind Atom, apparently resigned "to pursue other interests." Intel Architecture Group's Mike Bell and Dave Whalen will co-manage UMG in Chandrasekher's stead -- and that's about it for sordid details. His resignation isn't apt to be marked by a Mark Hurd-style scandal, and we have a feeling this is a pretty straight forward changing of the guards, but, then again, we said the same thing when Dirk Meyer left AMD.
RIM's chief marketing officer resigns
We won't read too much into this, but it comes at an interesting time -- with only a month left before RIM is expected to debut the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, the company's chief marketing officer has resigned. The Wall Street Journal reports that RIM CMO Keith Pardy (formerly with Nokia) will leave due to "personal reasons" after a six-month transition period is up. The publication's anonymous sources add that Pardy actually made the decision a month ago, and that the move "reflects larger turmoil" within RIM -- as opposed to any sort of knee-jerk reaction over the iPad 2 launch, we suppose. To be frank, we're a little worried about the fate of the PlayBook if it's indeed close to launch -- when we tried a prototype at the Game Developer's Conference this past week in San Francisco, the hardware was still pretty solid, but the software was a bit sparse, and what was there felt like it needed more than a few coats of polish. [Thanks, Jonathan W.]
Frogster CEO resigns
Andreas Weidenhaupt, CEO of Frogster, has announced his impending resignation from the company. Weidenhaupt will be stepping down in April of this year to focus on other projects but will remain a consultant with Frogster afterward. Weidenhaupt has been one of the most public faces of the company, particularly for Runes of Magic and TERA. Frogster's chairman of the executive board Christoph Gerlinger had this to say about Andreas' departure: "We thank Andreas kindly for his job performance of the past years, the amicable co-operation with the executive board colleagues and for his significant contribution to the success of Frogster. In the course of last year, Andreas managed to fill the Frogster product pipeline with excellent titles for the next years in advance." You can read the full announcement over at Frogster Interactive.
WSJ: AMD's Meyer lacked vision, ousted accordingly
We thought the story behind former AMD CEO Dirk Meyer's resignation wouldn't be as juicy as that of HP CEO Mark Hurd, but they've actually got something in common -- neither had a visionary strategy for entering the smartphone and tablet markets. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Meyer's hesitation, particularly towards tablets, may have cost him the job, and that the company pressured him into resignation after he showed disinterest in mobile devices at this year's CES. Sounds familiar to us, but we still don't expect any sex scandals or fraudulent reports out of this one.
Nokia's MeeGo device chief quits
The VP in charge of Nokia's MeeGo Devices has resigned. Ari Jaaksi confirmed to Finland's Talous Sanomat that he resigned last week. According to a Nokia spokesman his departure does not affect MeeGo's rollout schedule which had called for a first device to be delivered before the end of 2010. We've confirmed this with Nokia as well, who tells us that an "update on MeeGo" (note the wiggle room in that phrase) will be announced before the end of the year. In case you're keeping track, Jaaksi's departure follows the high-profile exits of Nokia's former CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo (replaced by Stephen Elop) and the head of Nokia Mobile Solutions, Anssi Vanjoki. Notably, Nokia's MeeGo team picked up Palm's Peter Skillman as the head of MeeGo User Experience and Services during the same period. It's also worth noting that just yesterday Mobile-Review's Eldar Murtazin said that Nokia's N9 hardware is "near perfect" but the MeeGo software build is "not so good at the moment." Given all this, we can't see how Nokia could possibly ship its first MeeGo handset -- a device Nokia hopes to position against the iPhone 4 and best Android handsets in the US -- in 2010, do you? [Thanks, JJ Ehto]
Sprint execs leave Clearwire board out of an 'abundance of caution'
Well, it looks like Sprint and Clearwire aren't taking any chances when it comes to some of the new antitrust rules now in place. Clearwire has just announced that the three Sprint executives now on its board will be resigning out of an "abundance of caution" -- that includes Sprint CEO Dan Hesse, along with division presidents Keith O. Cowan and Steven L. Elfman. Not many more details than that at the moment, but Sprint does still hang onto the right to appoint members to the Clearwire board, and the four Sprint appointees currently on the board will remain in place. As The Wall Street Journal notes, however, the move would seem to clear the way for Clearwire to potentially make another deal, although no one involved is saying anything publicly at the moment beyond what's in the brief press release after the break.
Google's Eric Schmidt resigns from Apple board over 'conflict of interest'
Should have seen this one coming, right? Google CEO Eric Schmidt has resigned from Apple's board today citing a conflict of interest. Apple (Steve Jobs, in fact) says that "Unfortunately, as Google enters more of Apple's core businesses, with Android and now Chrome OS, Eric's effectiveness as an Apple board member will be significantly diminished, since he will have to recuse himself from even larger portions of our meetings due to potential conflicts of interest." Android and Chrome OS -- something had to give, but the timing sure does make it seem like that Google Voice app rejection might have really hurt someone's feelings. The truth is, it's been a tangled web for some time as far as the relationship between Apple and Google goes. Sure, Schmidt sat on the board, the companies claim to be working on new projects, and Google Maps comes preloaded onto the iPhone, but over the past year, Google's increasing move into Apple's space, and Apple's increasing desire to control every inch of that space have not been good bedfellows. It's hard to imagine that Apple could maintain a completely healthy relationship with a direct competitor in both the phone and OS space for very long, and that's to say nothing of Cupertino's latest push into online document editing and management, which couldn't have seemed very awesome to Schmidt and company. Oh, and there's that matter of the antitrust case which is currently ongoing. Still, it's a bit sad to see this power couple going their separate ways, though it does give us some hope that Google will begin a full assault with Android in earnest, because only sweet stuff could come from those efforts. If you're interested, the full PR is after the break. Update: The FTC says it's going to continue investigating the two companies for "remaining interlocking directorates," so Apple and Google aren't totally out of the woods, but we don't think anything else major is in store here.
Walter Bender speaks out about leaving OLPC, de-emphasis of radical projects
What do you know? The former OLPC head of software and content did indeed resign at least partially over NickNeg's growing fondness of Windows XP. In a recent soul-spilling interview with xconomy, Walter Bender made clear that he resigned his post at the non-profit due to the general de-emphasis of "radical projects like Sugar," the innovative XO user interface which Mr. Bender was unsurprisingly neck-deep in during his stay. Essentially, he felt as if the outfit had stopped trying to "be disruptive" and started "trying to make things comfortable for decision-makers," hence Walter darting out "to do his own thing." Needless to say, the lead developer of Sugar isn't satisfied with seeing his work forgotten, and while details have yet to be worked out, he is looking to "find a new central home for the community of educators and software developers who have been creating Sugar-compatible applications."[Image courtesy of The New York Times]
OLPC head of software and content resigns, possibly over transition to XP
The recent shakeups at the top of the OLPC hierarchy have apparently claimed another victim, as OLPC News is reporting that Software and Content chief Walter Bender has just left the project. Rumor is that Nicholas Negroponte is going to transition the OLPC XO entirely to Windows XP to spur sales soon, and Bender is reportedly unhappy about that. What makes this all the more interesting is that when security director Ivan Krsti?? left the OLPC project last month, he specifically said he was unhappy that the restructuring no longer required him to work with Bender, and said that he could no longer "subscribe to the organization's new aims or structure in good faith." Looks like something's afoot at OLPC, and the old guard isn't happy about it. What say you, NickNeg?
