Mozilla appoints former marketing executive as interim CEO

Mozilla has named Chris Beard, its former chief marketing officer, as interim CEO. Beard is a veteran who has been involved in many projects and Mozilla says he is the right man to lead the organization right now.

Beard’s appointment follows a tumultuous period for Mozilla, with the previous CEO, Brendan Eich, deciding to leave just 11 days after his appointment, after he had donated money in 2008 for a law banning same-sex marriages in the US state of California. Critics say his actions were inconsistent with Mozilla’s principles.

Beard is interim CEO, but has a good chance for the eventual CEO position, says Mozilla chairman Mitchell Baker. He joined Mozilla in 2004 and was involved with the organization when Firefox 1.0 came out and held his previous position of marketing executive with the release of Firefox for Android and Firefox OS. In June 2013, Beard left for investment firm Greylock Partners, only to return. “In these times of change, there is no better person to lead us,” said Baker.

Mozilla is now looking for a definitive CEO candidate and the board will also be expanded.