Codemasters CEO Resigns After 3 Months

Officials from British publisher and developer Codemasters have announced that CEO Nick Wheelwright has resigned after eleven years with the company, including a brief period in the top job. According to a statement in UK trade magazine MCV, Wheelwright is leaving “to spend more time with his new family and pursue other business interests.” Current chairman and co-founder David Darling will take on the role with immediate effect. Although Wheelwright had been with the company for over a decade, he has only held the position of CEO for three months. Speculation that his departure may have been for reasons other than those officially stated is, at this stage, just speculation, although some analysts charge that the company has lost some of its focus and vitality in recent years, with some major titles such as the Dragon Empires MMO cancelled, and relatively little impact in the U.S. market thus far. However, David Darling has had only praise for Wheelwright, commenting: “I’d like to thank Nick for all the really great work he has done here and wish him and his family the very best. I handed over all department managers to Nick approximately nine years ago and, although I am sad to see him leave, I am also very excited about creating a new chapter in Codemasters’ history – evangelizing innovation, creativity and quality.” He continued by comparing his new role as CEO with the return of Steve Jobs to Apple, “As a founder of Codemasters the analogy in my mind is Apple, which under Steve Jobs, with iPod and iTunes, has shown how successfully a technology company can be re-invigorated by a founder. I remain very passionate about this company and the games industry. I am fully committed to continuing Codemasters’ success, building on our established brands and introducing innovative IPs, making the next few years very exciting.”