Opera chief steps down

gallery

The co-founder of Opera, Jon von Tetzchner, is to step down from his role as chief executive of the browser company.

He is to be replaced by Lars Boilesen, the current chief commercial officer and previous executive vice president of sales.

The now ex-CEO will still have a role at the company working full-time in what the company calls “a strategic and independent capacity” and he has officially given his blessing to his successor.

"I was very happy about convincing Lars to come back to Opera one year ago,” said Von Tetzchner in a statement.

“Today, I am very excited about asking him to take over as CEO as we continue our growth and global expansion. We have worked closely together for many years and I am certain that he is the right person to lead Opera into a very bright future."

He claimed to have decided to take on his new role after a “lengthy consideration process” but there is no turning back now as the change comes into effect immediately.

Boilesen, who has previous worked for Alcatel-Lucent, Tandberg Data and even Lego, said in a statement: “Our focus going forward is to execute on our current strategy and continue to deliver the best browser experience to the breadth of our customer and user base."

Email to a friend

Print this page