CEO and founder of Internet domain registration group Melbourne IT, Peter Gerrand, has decided to leave the company at the end of the month.
Gerrand, who said his decision to leave was primarily a lifestyle choice, will be replaced by chief operating officer Adrian Kloeden.
A disappointing first half profit and gloomy outlook for the Internet domain name registration market has sent company shares about 70 percent lower in less than four weeks.
Melbourne IT also announced on Thursday an alliance with Washington-based telecommunications group NeuStar to try to diversify into core infrastructure and decrease its reliance on the registrar sector.
The joint venture will bid to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers for accreditation to act as the registry for a range of top level domain names as well as acting as a back-end registry services provider to other bidders.
Meanwhile, Microsoft today announced that Paul Maritz, group vice president of the Platforms Strategy and Developer Group, is retiring after 14 years with the company and 22 years in the high-tech industry. Maritz will continue to serve as a consultant to Microsoft on strategic and business issues.
