Half of Mozilla board resigns over choice of CEO

Three board members have reportedly left the company because they wanted a more mobile-focused leader than co-founder and now CEO Brendan Eich

Half of Mozilla’s board of directors have quit over the appointment of co-founder Brendan Eich as CEO, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Reports say the board members resigned as they believe the company needs a more mobile-focused leader who can drive take up of its Firefox operating system.

Gary Kovacs of online security firm AVG Technologies, John Lilly, partner at venture capital firm Greylock Partners; and Ellen Siminoff, CEO of online education firm Shmoop are the board members in question.

Three remain: Mitchell Baker (Mozilla co-founder and chairwoman), Reid Hoffman (co-founder of LinkedIn) and Katharina Borchert (Spiegel Online CEO).

The departures are the second controversy to hit Mozilla as a result of Eich’s promotion. Staff called for him to resign after it was revealed he had made a $1,000 donation to California’s anti-gay marriage movement.