It's Over: Mozilla CEO Resigns After Gay Marriage Controversy – http://t.co/LFeCtrkPJ6 pic.twitter.com/9kLWbyhWOL
— PCMag (@PCMag) April 3, 2014
Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich has resigned his post. Eich’s resignation comes after Eich’s support of anti-gay political groups caused a media firestorm.
Here’s what you need to know about the scandal that’s rocking Mozilla, the makers of Firefox.
1. Brendan Eich’s Resignation Effective April 3
Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich steps down from the company he cofounded: http://t.co/FPSxxaPZHj
— Mashable (@mashable) April 3, 2014
The official Mozilla blog addresses Eich’s resignation. Mitchell Baker, Executive Chairwoman of Mozilla, wrote:
“Brendan Eich has chosen to step down from his role as CEO. He’s made this decision for Mozilla and our community.
Mozilla believes both in equality and freedom of speech. Equality is necessary for meaningful speech. And you need free speech to fight for equality. Figuring out how to stand for both at the same time can be hard.
Our organizational culture reflects diversity and inclusiveness. We welcome contributions from everyone regardless of age, culture, ethnicity, gender, gender-identity, language, race, sexual orientation, geographical location and religious views. Mozilla supports equality for all.”
2. Eich’s Scandal May Be Linked to Mozilla Board Resignations
The pity storm for Brendan Eich is starting, but my sympathy is for all the gay couples he helped 'reclaim' marriage from in 2008.
— Rogers Cadenhead (@rcade) April 3, 2014
Re/code reports that three of Mozilla Corporation’s board members have resigned since the Eich scandal came to light. Re/code writes that former Mozilla CEO and current Greylock Partners VC John Lilly, former Mozilla CEO Gary Kovacs and well-known tech exec Ellen Siminoff have all stepped down.
Re/code adds:
“But each of their departures seems to have been only tangentially related to Eich’s appointment — though none of them supported his selection as CEO, according to numerous sources, for other reasons — and not to the controversy over Prop 8.”
3. New Mozilla CEO Yet to Be Named
You would think that the forward thinking person that invented Javascript would be more socially progressive. http://t.co/Q4RpD7HXXS
— Zach Ford (@thisiszachyo) April 3, 2014
The official Mozilla blog notes that “What’s next for Mozilla’s leadership is still being discussed.” Mozilla has yet to name a new CEO, though it’s a safe bet that whoever gets the job next will have more tolerant political views.
4. Eich Believes Mozilla Was Under Threat Due to His Past
Lesson from Brendan Eich: don't give money to a cause that you'll disown if anyone calls you out about it http://t.co/AtRhwAaDCN
— areseven (@areseven) April 3, 2014
In an interview with CNET, Eich stated that the media firestorm around his past political donations put Mozilla at risk. When asked whether people should judge executives by their political beliefs, Eich said:
“For Mozilla, it’s problematic because of our principles of inclusiveness…We have to be careful to put the principles of inclusiveness first. I can see how other companies might have different reasons for existence and might take a different approach. I’m not going to say all companies have to have the same principles, but for Mozilla, that’s always been how we’ve operated. It’s how I’ve always operated in open communities, in open source, and at Mozilla.”
5. Eich Was Only CEO For 11 Days
Have waited too long to say this. I'm an employee of @mozilla and I'm asking @brendaneich to step down as CEO.
— Chloe Varelidi (@varelidi) March 27, 2014
Eich was appointed as CEO on March 24. Just three days later, on March 27, Mozilla employees took to Twitter to demand that Eich resign because of his anti-gay political views.
Eich resigned on April 3, meaning he held the CEO position at Mozilla for just 11 days.
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Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich Resigns: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know