Same-sex marriage opponent Eich steps down as Mozilla’s CEO
A little more than a week after becoming chief executive of Mozilla Corp., Brendan Eich is stepping down after an intense debate over his belief that same-sex couples should not be allowed to marry.
After his appointment as the software company’s new chief, Eich came under heavy fire from employees and the public for making a $1,000 contribution in 2008 to support a ban on same-sex marriage in California under Proposition 8.
In an interview Tuesday, Eich defended his views, saying that he was capable of separating his personal beliefs from those of the business he is running. Mozilla makes the popular Firefox Web browser and is considered a pioneer in open source, a collective development process now common in the tech industry.
“I serve at the pleasure of the board. I would have them ask me to step down,” he said. “Until then I have to be CEO 100 percent.”
In a blog post on the company’s website, Mitchell Baker, the executive chairwoman of Mozilla, said Mozilla did not act quickly enough to respond to criticism of Eich.
“We didn’t act like you’d expect Mozilla to act,” Baker said. “We didn’t move fast enough to engage with people once the controversy started. We’re sorry. We must do better.”
While Baker did not say directly that Eich’s belief’s regarding same-sex marriage did not reflect the company’s ideals, she noted that Mozilla is a company that promotes openness and equality.
“Mozilla believes both in equality and freedom of speech. Equality is necessary for meaningful speech. And you need free speech to fight for equality,” she wrote. “Figuring out how to stand for both at the same time can be hard.”
Since Eich was appointed chief executive, a number of current Mozilla employees took to Twitter to air their views about the board’s choice, with several voicing concern about the appointment, and some employees even suggesting Eich should step down.
John Lilly, the former chief executive at Mozilla, linked on Twitter to the blog post about Eich’s resignation and wrote, “Tough times, but reflects so much of what I love about the organization.”
Baker said that Mozilla had not yet decided who would take over the position of chief executive, and that the company’s board would meet to discuss a new appointment.
“We will emerge from this with a renewed understanding and humility — our large, global, and diverse community is what makes Mozilla special, and what will help us fulfill our mission,” she wrote. “We are stronger with you involved.”