Opera appoints new Chief Executive Officer

[bill]

Opera appoints Lars Boilesen new Chief Executive Officer [opera.com]

Company co-founder Jon von Tetzchner assumes new role in Opera
Oslo, Norway, January 5, 2010

Opera Software today announced that Lars Boilesen (42) has been named the company's new Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. He succeeds Jon S. von Tetzchner, who co-founded the company in 1995 and has served as Chief Executive Officer since that time. Jon von Tetzchner will continue to serve Opera full-time in a strategic and independent capacity.

[taasinge]

For all those company founders whose companies grow beyond hiring the first few employees, there comes a stage where they will have to ask themselves if they still want to be in charge of a business which is now fundamentally different from what it was in the beginning. It seems that Jon von Tetzchner wants a role where he has a bit more freedom to do as he pleases. :-)

[StoutFiles]

What Opera needs to do is hire a new marketing department.

[JAB Creations]

I was wondering why he stepped down from that position. Any one know what sort of stuff he wants to work on?

- John

[Brett_Tabke]

I think this is very significant. Jon has run Opera since day 1 and has pushed it further than anyone ever gave him a chance to do. Opera took on the mega corps of Microsoft and Netscape in a time when every other browser failed. Aside from the early netscapes, Opera was the only software to succesfully charge for their browser. Under Von Tetzchner, they ported the software to every major desktop platform, every major mobile phone platform, and even to game devices like the WII. The latest alpha/beta (10.5) version of Opera is getting rave reviews [webmasterworld.com]. It is nice to leave at the top. I think it will be very interesting to see what Opera does in the coming couple of years.

[J_RaD]

more unite applications!

[poppyrich]

Hooray. It's about time.
Opera's market share is just pitiful.
The smartest thing they can do is change the name of the thing (and also their nonsensical tag line for the developer site: "Follow The Standards, Break The Rules")
It will be costly but it should have been done years ago.
If you didn't know anything about them, which browser would you install and try first, one named "Firefox" or one named "Opera"?
Opera - what's that? The browser for fat ladies who sing?
I've had it installed on every PC I've owned since 2000. Paid for a license because I wanted to support the product.
I, too, am very interested to see what changes might come with a new guy at the top.
Finally.

[Brett_Tabke]

Interesting interview I did with Jon Von T a few years ago:

[izurl.com...]

We actually had "lost" the interview and was recently found on a tape and Vanessa fixed it up.