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LightSquared founder Philip Falcone to step down 'eventually', attempts to dodge the bankruptcy bullet
In an effort keep the troubled LightSquared from the brink of defaulting on its debt, its founder will step down from the company. While it doesn't look immediate, (people "familiar with the negotiations" are using the word "eventually") it's Philip Falcone's latest attempt to extend a debt-term violation that expires this morning. According to the same sources, if the initial extension is okayed, Falcone and LightSquared's lenders are aiming for a greater period of around 18 months to repay $1.6 billion in loans and pass the FCC's requirements for its network. The company's board is still deliberating on whether to accept the deal, which would stop the company filing for bankruptcy protection. Unfortunately, it looks like those new 4G network dreams just got hazier.
Craig Zinkievich leaving Star Trek Online's bridge
We'll take "things we didn't see coming" for 5000, Alex. What would that be? Well, in a nutshell, Craig Zinkievich, Executive Producer on Star Trek Online and seven-year vet of Cryptic Studios, has announced his plans to step down. The long open-letter posted on the Star Trek Online official site is titled "What you leave behind" and indicates that his intent is to "take a break" allowing him to enjoy "hanging out with [his] kids over the summer, walking [his] goat more and taking care of [his] bees." As to just what his plans for the future are, and whether or not they may involve a return to Cryptic Studios in the future, he does not say. In the meantime, Daniel Stahl will step into his position as Star Trek Online's new Executive Producer. According to both Zinkievich's note and Stahl's own profile on the STO site, the game's future trajectory appears to be in capable hands. We wish Zinkievich the best with his children and his goaty kids -- and may he especially never wind up covered in bees.
Alcatel-Lucent's CEO and chairman to exit
Shortly after Alcatel-Lucent posted yet another quarter of net losses, two of its biggest bigwigs have decided that enough is enough. Chairman Serge Tchuruk and CEO Patricia Russo have both announced plans to exit the company, and while the former will be clocking in for the final time on October 1st, the latter has agreed to stay on until a new CEO is found. According to Tchuruk, the time has come for the outfit to "acquire a personality of its own, independent from its two predecessors." The search for replacements has already begun, though analysts assert that filling the holes won't be a lesson in simplicity. Something Motorola would likely agree with entirely.[Via RCRWireless, image courtesy of The New York Times]Read - Announcement of resignationsRead - Search for replacements
Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan leaving at year's end
No shocker here: Nintendo's Vice President of Marketing, Perrin Kaplan, will be joining George Harrison and Beth Llewelyn at the end of this year by not continuing to work for the Big N. After being employed by Nintendo for some 15 years, Kaplan has now announced that she "will be leaving the outfit at the end of the year," but noted that until that day, she will remain "focused on getting a great transition team in place and handling all of her normal responsibilities as well." As with Ms. Llewelyn, no replacement has been named just yet, but we can't imagine the firm wasting any time finding a sufficient successor.[Via GamesIndustry]
XM CEO Hugh Panero steps down
Word just hit the street that XM CEO Hugh Panero will be leaving the satellite radio provider in August, and the current president and COO, Nate Davis will be taking his place. This isn't exactly surprising news if you take a look at the recent business the company has been doing. First there's the XM / Sirius merger, of course, which has taken longer to complete than any other in FCC history, then there's the outages, subscriber backlash over programming, patent lawsuits, copyright lawsuits, and of course, the much-loved CEO name-calling. Really, who could blame the man from wanting to get away from the inevitable spit-roast someone was about to make of him? Of course, we've had our eye on Panero for some time now, and it seems possible that a change of leadership may be just what the satellite kingpin needs right now.[Via Orbitcast]
