Rovio CEO Mikael Hed stepping down after 5 years

After more than five years at the helm, Rovio founder Mikael Hed is stepping down from his CEO position, and will instead oversee animation and movie operations at the company. Hed co-founded Rovio back in 2003 (then known as Relude) with Niklas Hed, and the company rose to worldwide fame following the release of Angry Birds in 2009. Now the CEO says that he's moving aside, although he will apparently still "play an active role" at the company. He's been nominated for a board of directors position, and will continue on as chairman of Rovio Animation Studios. Pekka Rantala will replace Hed on January 1, 2015. Rantala was previous a Nokia veteran, having held various executive positions at the company from the mid-90s onwards. Rantala and Hed will be working together until then to assure that the transition is as smooth as possible.