back to article Firefox biz Mozilla makes Beard new interim chief executive

Mozilla has appointed ex-long-time employee Chris Beard to head the collective as interim CEO after the old boss Brendan Eich was forced out for donating to a group opposing gay marriage. Mozilla's new CEO Chris Beard Beard is likely to keep his views on gay marriage to himself "Mozilla needs to act quickly and decisively …

COMMENTS

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  1. spider from mars
    Meh

    what you did there..

    ..I see it.

  2. Decade
    Boffin

    What about the Chief Technical Officer?

    Brendan Eich was not just a short-lived CEO. He was also co-founder and Chief Technical Officer, and now Mozilla has lost that role.

    What impact is this going to have on Mozilla? Did the office of CTO actually do anything important? I heard that Eich was known for being "humble," so he may have downplayed his contributions, if there were any, but I'm concerned about Mozilla's future. I'm disappointed that no journalist has covered this aspect.

    Google is using Chrome to promote new DRM technologies. Apple and Microsoft are using Safari and Internet Explorer to promote patented codecs. Opera has abdicated from technology leadership. The W3C has capitulated to hostile special interests. We need a leader of technology that advocates for user rights, and Mozilla has provided that leadership. Now that Mozilla's chief of technology has been forced out, and a former chief of marketing put in his place, what impact will there be on Mozilla's technology leadership?

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Why don't they appoint Lottie Dexter?

    Why?

  4. pacman7de
    IT Angle

    Lets organize a boycott ..

    Now that it's become the norm for getting people fired for holding opposing views to yerself, how about organising a boycott of the following individuals: Chloe Valerlidi, Chris McAvoy, Christie Koehler, Jessica Klein, Jess Klein, John Bevan, Sydney Moyer (ref) or failing that having them locked in a room and made listen to Alex Jones for ever.

  5. Jon Green
    Facepalm

    Oh, and I was so hoping...

    ...it was going to be Frank Beard from ZZ Top.

    1. Stoneshop
      Go

      Re: Oh, and I was so hoping...

      it was going to be Frank Beard from ZZ Top.

      But at least, like Frank, he hasn't got one.

  6. Fazal Majid

    Another step in the wrong direction, stagnation and irrelevance

    Mozilla is rich due to the advertising fees Google pays it for being the default search engine in Firefox. Paradoxically, this comfortable situation means they are not experiencing a sense of urgency commensurate with their slow Yahoo-like slide towards irrelevance as mobile (Webkit/Blink-based) browsing is usurping the desktop.

    The search referral wealth is also funding a lot of useless claptrap like Open Badges that are a distraction from the radical changes Mozilla needs to make if it is to survive. The organization will need strong technical leadership to make this happen, and it isn't going to come from wishy-washy liberal arts or marketing types like Beard or Mitchell Baker. Losing Eich is a terrible blow, however unpalatable his opinions may have been, and replacing an engineering-background CEO with a marketer makes it less likely that a replacement will accept the job.

  7. aahjnnot

    Too late. I stopped using Firefox when I realised that Mozilla valued political correctness over freedom of political expression.

    They've become an irrelevance.

  8. PlaStiK

    Disappointed...

    I was so hoping this man would have a beard when i clicked on the article.

  9. PlaStiK

    Pity...

    I was so hoping that he would have a beard when I clicked on this.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Affirmitive action will trump managerial competence

    Mozilla's new CEO will most likely be of color and one of LBGTQ. At this point that is the only thing that will be acceptable to the vocal part of the community that will comment on such things.

  11. Robert Ramsay

    A beard...

    Is also a slang term for a woman who a gay man goes around with to throw people off the scent...

  12. Ross K Silver badge
    Trollface

    Just checking

    They do understand that a BEARD is a person of the opposite sex who marries or dates a closeted lesbian or gay person to cover up their homosexuality?

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