CEO Steve Perlman leaves OnLive amid insolvency proceedings
As its founder steps down, an investor and a top manager are taking over the struggling company.
OnLive CEO Steve Perlman is stepping down from the troubled online gaming company he founded after agreeing to stay on during insolvency proceedings, the company announced today.
Instead, Perlman, known for his work developing QuickTime and WebTV, is "departing to work on his myriad of other projects," the company said in a statement.
Gary Lauder, the lead investor in OnLine and managing director of Lauder Partners LLC, will be the new chairman and Charlie Jablonski, formerly head of online operations, will become the company's chief operating officer and acting CEO.
More from the company's release:
The Palo Alto, Calif-based company, which launched the OnLive platform in 2009, reportedly owed creditors between $30 million and $40 million and the board of directors decided to restructure the company under an "assignment for the benefit of creditors," which is an alternative to bankruptcy. As a result, the assets were sold to an unnamed company and the employees were fired, but nearly half were offered employment with the new firm. OnLive has said that service would continue uninterrupted.The new OnLive is emerging with greater financial security and a brighter outlook on the future. OnLive is now positioned to execute against longer-term projects with our breakthrough technology, products and services," said Lauder, also adding, "I spent my first week with OnLive listening, to gather people's thoughts and suggestions. It's an impressive group, and I am even more convinced that this company is poised for greatness."
The company plans to continue building the OnLive management team in key categories as the company delivers on its mission of breaking new ground in cloud services both for games and remote application delivery to thin devices, legacy platforms or any platforms with a fast connection. The new OnLive is looking to hire great people for the business development team, as well as a senior marketing leader.