Linden Lab Founder Rosedale Steps Down

Second Life developer Linden Lab saw another management change this week, as company founder Philip Rosedale announced he'd be stepping down from his position as interim CEO. Rosedale took the reins as interim CEO four months ago, when Mark Kingdon stepped down from CEO. At the time, CFO Bob Komin took on the additional role of COO. Rosedale said on the Second Life blog, "I'll be leaving day-to-day management of the company and continuing in my role on the board, including helping in the search to find a great CEO." The entrepreneur said he will continue work on his startup company LoveMachine. COO Komin will head up San Francisco-based Linden Lab during the search for a new CEO. "It's been an intense few months of transition, and we all feel like we are in a better place now, with a clearer sense of direction and more focus, and are ready to bring someone new into the mix as a leader," Rosedale said. Second Life released in 2003, and played a major role in defining online virtual worlds. Players, or "residents," can interact with other users in virtual environments, and create, buy and sell virtual real estate. The world has its own virtual economy, based on the Linden Dollar currency.