Laura Chambers has been appointed as the new CEO of Mozilla, taking over from the previous CEO, Mitchell Baker, who will now assume the role of the Executive Chairwoman of the Mozilla Corporation. Chambers, who has been a board member for three years, will serve as the interim CEO until the end of the year or until a permanent replacement is selected.
Baker expressed her confidence in Chambers, affirming that she is “adequately equipped to lead Mozilla through this period of transition.” The primary focus for the next 10 months will be on “delivering successful products” and “establishing platforms to drive progress,” as stated in the announcement.
Chambers’s responsibilities will involve 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 accomplish these objectives during her limited tenure as CEO.
Baker’s time as CEO came under scrutiny, particularly regarding her salary increases and the declining market share of Firefox. In 2020, Mozilla underwent significant restructuring that resulted in the dismissal of numerous employees.
While the announcement mentions Firefox as one of several core products, it is a critical component of Mozilla’s revenue stream, mainly through search agreements, like the one with Google.
Furthermore, Mozilla has introduced new web-based services like Mozilla Monitor Pro, Mozilla VPN, and Firefox Relay to diversify its revenue streams. However, royalties from search engine agreements still constitute over 80% of Mozilla’s total revenue, indicating the need for further diversification to anticipate potential declines in search deal revenue.
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