Three members of Mozilla"s six-member board have reportedly stepped down over the choice of Brendan Eich as the new CEO. The three Mozilla board members to resign are former Mozilla CEO and current head of AVG Gary Kovacs, another former CEO named John Lilly, and Ellen Siminoff, CEO of the online education startup Shmoop.
The reason for their departure appears to be focused around their demands for someone from outside Mozilla with a background in the mobile industry, presumably to help push Firefox OS and to seize a larger share of the mobile browser market.
Mozilla spokesman Mike Manning confirmed that there are only 3 board members left, however he declined to comment further.
Although Firefox is an extremely popular browser on desktops and laptops, it barely makes a dent in mobile devices with less than 0.1% market share, and it seems that the board was after "fresh blood" that would bring fresh ideas to the table as opposed to someone who has been involved in Firefox for too long a time to provide the innovation that Mozilla needs.
Outside of the concerns about Eich"s ability to push Firefox OS and increase their market share, there is pressure on the new Mozilla CEO to resign from employees that were not happy with his 2008 donation of $1,000 to a campaign that was geared at banning same-sex marriage in California. Eich recently posted a blog addressing the concerns that have been expressed over his views on marriage equality, in which he apologized for "having caused pain" and expressed that he is committed to ensuring safety and equality for Mozilla employees.
"I am committed to ensuring that Mozilla is, and will remain, a place that includes and supports everyone, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, age, race, ethnicity, economic status, or religion" - Eich
Source: Wall Street Journal