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OLPC to stop operating like a <br/> "terrorist group"

The head of One Laptop Per Child has said he is searching for a chief executive, so the group can be managed "more like Microsoft".

By Nicole Kobie, 6 Mar 2008 at 10:32

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Nicholas Negroponte has said he is searching for a chief executive for One Laptop Per Child, the group he founded, to take it to the next stage as a business.

He told BusinessWeek magazine in an interview that OLPC has been operating "almost like a terrorist group, doing almost impossible things," since it's inception in 2005. Now, Negroponte wants to see it managed "more like Microsoft".

At the moment, Negroponte is OLPC's chairman. It is also run by a chief connectivity officer, chief education officer and chief financial officer, as well as a host of directors, but has no chief executive.

It's not been easy for Negroponte or the OLPC since it started production of its iconic XO laptop in November. While sales via the Give One, Get One scheme were in the millions, the so-called $100 laptop cost nearly twice that.

As well, the group has faced a battle with former partner Intel and competition from newer lower-cost education-focused laptops, such as Asus' EEE PC, Intel's Classmate and Elonex's recently-released One. Indeed, in January, OLPC co-founder Mary Lou Jepson left to start her own firm, which recently announced plans for a $75 laptop. Time for a rethink, then.

"I am not a chief executive," Negroponte told Business Week. "Management, administration, and details are my weaknesses. I'm much better at the vision, big-picture side of the house."

He said the search for a chief executive began last year, with hopes to find the right person by April or May. But Negroponte's idea of the right person for the job is someone similar to former secretary-general of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, who would look at "the world as a mission, not a market".

An OLPC spokesman confirmed that they were looking for a chief executive, but stressed there would be no change in Negroponte's role as chairman, saying they were "looking to add a chief executive who can focus on operations while Negroponte continues to be the visionary."