Jon Rubenstein becomes Palm CEO

Colligan makes way for ex-Apple exec after 16 years

11 June 2009 9:12 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

Palm has announced that it's getting a new chairman and CEO. Ed Colligan is being replaced - after 16 years at the helm - by Palm's "executive chairman" Jon Rubenstein, from 12 June.

An ex-Apple exec, Rubenstein joined the smartphone maker full time in October 2007, in Palm's words, "to help bring innovation back to the company".

Instrumental in the development of the Palm Pre and its WebOS operating system, Rubinstein's career at now-rival company Apple started in 1997 and saw him head up teams that rolled out the iMac and the iPod.

Ed Colligan is apparently planning some time off, before joining Elevation Partners, the private equity firm that owns some of Palm.

"I am very excited about taking on this expanded role at Palm", said Rubinstein.

"Ed and I have worked very hard together the past two years, and I'm grateful to him for everything he's done to help set the company up for success. With Palm webOS we have ten-plus years of innovation ahead of us, and the Palm Pre is already one of the year's hottest new products. Due in no small part to Ed's courageous leadership, we're in great shape to get Palm back to continuous growth, and we plan to keep the trajectory going upward."

Via: businessinsider.com

Full tags

Biz, Palm, Elevation Partners, Apple, Phones