Facebook CTO exits for unnamed startup
updated 08:05 pm EDT, Fri June 15, 2012
Two subordinates named to assume duties
Facebook's chief technology officer Bret Taylor is leaving his post at the social network later this summer. The executive was previously in charge of both platform and mobile development at Facebook. Two of Taylor's subordinates will be taking over his job -- Mike Vernal wil be taking over platform development and Cory Ondreijka will be at the head of mobile.
Taylor, a former Google employee, left the search engine's ranks in 2007 to found FriendFeed. He was brought into the Facebook fold after the giant acquired FriendFeed in 2009. Two years ago, he was named CTO of Facebook. Taylor told AllThingsD that the time he spent at the social network "has been the among the most fulfilling times of my career."
Taylor acknowledges that his departure may be seen as a disruption, given the media and investor focus on Facebook following the botched IPO in May and current battery of lawsuits lined up against Facebook because of it. The departure is apparently no surprise to Facebook management, as the executive remarked that he "had always been upfront with Mark [Zuckerberg] that I eventually wanted to do another start-up, and we felt now is the best time after the IPO and the launch of some recent things for me to do that." Taylor added that departures such as his are part of life as usual in Silicon Valley.
No details are known about Taylor's future startup, but he is going to be working with another former Google employee, Kevin Gibbs, ex-Google Application Engine lead. He said they would probably focus on an industry that he would have to start from scratch in, and has no familiarity with.
During Taylor's tenure, Facebook launched its recent collaboration with Apple in iOS 6, the Facebook camera, Facebook's App center, the Facebook iPad app, and Timeline. [via AllThingsD]
