Mozilla has announced the appointment of Laura Chambers as the new CEO, replacing the previous CEO, Mitchell Baker, who will now serve as the Mozilla Corporation Executive Chairwoman. Chambers, a board member for three years, will act as interim CEO until the end of the year or until a permanent replacement is found.
Baker expressed confidence in Chambers, stating that she is “well-equipped to guide Mozilla through this transitional period”. The focus for the next 10 months will be on “delivering successful products” and “building platforms that accelerate momentum,” according to the announcement.
Chambers’s responsibilities will include refining “the company’s vision,” aligning “the corporate and product strategy behind it,” and emphasizing core products such as Firefox.
It remains to be seen whether Chambers can achieve these goals during her limited time as CEO.
Baker’s tenure as CEO faced criticism, particularly regarding her salary increases and Firefox’s declining market share. In 2020, Mozilla underwent a significant restructuring that led to the dismissal of numerous employees.
While Firefox is mentioned as one of several core products in the announcement, it is crucial to Mozilla’s revenue stream, primarily through search deals, such as the one with Google.
Additionally, Mozilla has introduced new web-based services like Mozilla Monitor Pro, Mozilla VPN, and Firefox Relay to diversify its revenue sources. Despite these efforts, royalties from search engine deals still constitute over 80% of Mozilla’s overall revenue, signaling a need for further diversification to anticipate potential declines in search deal revenue.
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