LogInJames M. Whitehurst has been appointed Interim CEO and President until the board chooses a permanent CEO.
Image Credit: Web Summit
Following the introduction of Unity's new pricing policy and the subsequent scandal it created, the company has announced the immediate departure of John Riccitiello, who served as its President, CEO, Chairman, and member of the Board of Directors.
Unity's official announcement states that Riccitiello will continue to advise the company to ensure a smooth transition. Roelof Botha, the Lead Independent Director of the Unity Board, will assume the role of Chairman, while James M. Whitehurst, a former President at IBM and CEO at Red Hat, has been named Unity's Interim CEO and President. The company plans to identify a permanent CEO in the near future, with the assistance of a leading executive search firm, as part of a comprehensive search process.
"It's been a privilege to lead Unity for nearly a decade and serve our employees, customers, developers, and partners, all of whom have been instrumental to the Company's growth," commented Riccitiello. "I look forward to supporting Unity through this transition and following the Company's future success."
"I am honored to join Unity as Interim CEO and President at this important time in its evolution," Jim Whitehurst added. "With the Company's experienced leadership and passionate employees, I am confident that Unity is well-positioned to continue enhancing its platform, strengthening its community of customers, developers, and partners, and focusing on its growth and profitability goals. I look forward to working closely with the Board and our talented global team to execute on our strategy, and I anticipate a seamless transition."
"Working with Unity under John's leadership has been one of the highlights of my career," said Roelof Botha. "John joined the Unity Board in 2013 and stepped in to lead the Company in 2014, at a time when we faced significant challenges. John has led Unity through incredible growth over the last nearly 10 years, helping us transition from a perpetual license to a subscription model, enabling developers to monetize, building other game services to serve our creator community, leading us through an IPO, and positioning us as a pioneer in the developer community. Unity would not be where it is today without the impact of his contributions. I remain excited for the future of Unity."
Previously, Unity also provided an update on its controversial fee policy, announcing that their Unity Personal plan "will remain free and there will be no Runtime Fee for games built on Unity Personal", increasing the cap from $100,000 to $200,000, getting rid of the requirement to use the Made with Unity splash screen, and more. You can read the full statement here.
Also, don't forget to join our 80 Level Talent platform and our Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.