RealNetworks CEO Kimball suddenly resigns

RealNetworks CEO Kimball suddenly resigns

2011-03-29 11:54:21 GMT+7 (ICT)

SEATTLE (BNO NEWS) -- The president and chief executive officer of RealNetworks, the company best known for developing RealPlayer, suddenly resigned on Monday as the organization is in the midst of restructuring.

Robert Kimball has been in the CEO role at RealNetworks since January 2010 to lead a restructuring and transformation of RealNetworks. The company announced in February that it was cutting 130 positions, or 10 percent of its total work force.

"Over the past year we have simplified our business, removed more than $70 million in annualized operating expenses and created an entirely new, award-winning product called Unifi," Kimball said in a statement. "We are delivering on our promise to build products people love. All this work has set the stage for Real to embark on its next phase with a clean bill of health and a strong foundation."

Kimball has been working at RealNetworks for more than 12 years and said it was time to find 'new challenges and opportunities.' "I want to thank the Real team for their incredible work over the past 15 months - we've come a long way in a short time and I look forward to watching their success in the coming years," he said.

RealNetworks also announced on Monday that its board of directors has appointed Mike Lunsford as interim CEO while it searches for a permanent replacement. "We are pleased to have Mike Lunsford in place to lead the company in the coming months while we search for a permanent CEO," said Rob Glaser, RealNetworks' founder and chairman.

Glaser said he appreciated Kimball's "strong leadership through a difficult transformation" and said he accomplished a lot in a short time. "He has established a strong foundation upon which the company can build in the years to come," Glaser said. "Bob has made a real difference at RealNetworks over the years and we thank him for his great contributions."

Lunsford joined RealNetworks in 2008 and, prior to that, served briefly as interim CEO and president at Earthlink, Inc. RealNetworks reported a net income of $1.2 million in the Fourth Quarter of 2010.

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