Linden Lab CEO Resigns Shortly After Layoffs

Linden Lab, developer of the virtual world Second Life, said Thursday that CEO Mark Kingdon would be stepping down from his position, just weeks after the company issued a round of layoffs. Kingdon joined San Francisco’s Linden Labs in 2008, replacing then-CEO and founder Philip Rosedale, who had left his role to become chairman of the board. The CEO’s departure comes after the early June announcement that the privately-held developer would be restructuring, resulting in the layoffs of 30 percent of the company’s staff. The company was founded in 1999, and the Linden Lab website said the company employs over 300 workers worldwide. Rosedale, who still serves as chairman, will now also take on the role of interim CEO, while CFO Bob Komin will undertake the additional role of COO. Linden Lab said that since Second Life’s introduction, the game has logged over 1 billion user hours and generated over $1 billion in user-to-user transactions. In April, the company said Second Life generated $57 million in user-to-user transactions in March, with quarterly transactions jumping 30 percent year-on-year to $160 million.