New CEO for Opera Software

Stephen Withers
Wednesday, 06 January 2010 06:34

IT People - People

Opera Software has appointed Lars Boilesen as its new CEO. He succeeds co-founder Jon S. von Tetzchner, who will remain with the company in a full-time, strategic and independent capacity.

"Lars Boilesen brings both a very significant industry experience and a deep understanding of Opera to the role as the company's Chief Executive Officer. In short, Opera's spirit runs through his veins," says Jon von Tetzchner.

"My decision to assume a new role in Opera is based on a lengthy consideration process. As outgoing Chief Executive, I leave confident in the company's continued leadership in key markets, our strong management team, our ongoing commitment to innovation, and our robust financial foundation."

Boilesen previously worked for Opera as executive vice president, sales between 2000 and 2005. He served as vice chairman of Opera's board of directors, and then rejoined the company in 2009 as chief commercial officer.

His CV also includes roles at Alcatel-Lucent, Tandberg Data, and Lego.

"I am impressed with what Opera has achieved under Jon's leadership," said Boilesen.

"We provide browser technology not only to nearly 100 million consumers worldwide, but also to the major players in the industry: Vodafone, T-Mobile, Nintendo, KDDI, SKT, Nokia, Samsung, Toshiba and Sony Ericsson to name but a few. 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."