Second Life News: Second Life Founder and CEO Rosedale steps down.
March 19th, 2008 | Published in Second Life News
After founding Second Life and Linden Lab in 1999, CEO Philip Rosedale is stepping down to make way for a candidate with more practical managerial experience. Rosedale will transition to chairman of the Linden Lab Board as soon as his replacement is found. Rosedale said he will continue to maintain an active role with the organization, working in product development and strategy.
Rosedale’s move is coincidental with speculation that the company may go “public” sometime in the near future, although nothing along these lines has been officially confirmed. Second Life’s subscription base, while still increasing, has slowed considerably since early 2007 when mass media attention inspired a spike in usage. Rosedale’s successor will be expected to confront and hopefully reverse this slowing trend.