John Lilly, chief executive of Mozilla, the software group responsible for the Firefox browser and the Thunderbird email client, has announced he will step down from his post later this year.
Chairman Mitchell Baker announced the decision in a blog post, saying the timing of the decision was “to make this process more open than is generally the case and is a reflection of the uniqueness of Mozilla as a public benefit organisation dedicated to openness and participation in internet life”.
Baker said that although Lilly will step down from his post, he will still remain on Mozilla’s board.
The announcement comes as the group intends to bring out the fourth version of its Firefox software later this year. The company said that it is proud of its 400-million strong user base, and intends to clean up the browser and make it faster.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
