Former Apple vet Chuq von Rospach leaves HP
updated 05:00 pm EST, Tue December 13, 2011
Von Rospach leaves HP after webOS open-source
HP saw one of its former Apple hires leave Tuesday after Chuq von Rospach revealed he was leaving the company. The webOS Developer Relations Community Manager confirmed that it was to leave for a position at another company that he "had to pursue." While not naming the company, he stressed that it didn't have anything to do with the decision to open-source webOS.
The team had waited until after a more definitive decision before outlining the plans, von Rospach said. HP's current developer portal editor in chief would be taking over. He noted that it was an amicable exit.
The only clue as to his future role was that he would "build something similar" to the webOS developer community.
Although he had a pair of stints in between, von Rospach is best-known for a 17-year position at Apple, where he was the Senior Architect for the company's marketing e-mail system until 2006. He helped establish Apple's first technical mailing list and even its first paid technical support. The veteran came to HP as part of a wave of former Apple staffers brought on by HP's soon-to-be CEO Jon Rubinstein, himself an Apple executive.
Since putting the future of webOS hardware into doubt, HP has seen a number of high-profile exits, including developer relations VP Richard Kerris.
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