Linden Lab picks online marketing executive as CEO

SECOND LIFE, April 22 (Reuters) - Linden Lab said on Tuesday it has selected online marketing executive Mark Kingdon as its new chief executive, replacing founder Philip Rosedale.

Kingdon is CEO of digital marketing agency Organic Inc and a former senior partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers. As of May 15, he will take control of day-to-day management and operations from Rosedale, who will become Linden Lab chairman and work on product development and strategy.

Kingdon described himself as an occasional Second Life user who created the avatar Marcus Voom in January, 2007. His newly created avatar is “M Linden.”

Rosedale told Reuters in March the company was looking for “someone who has experience with and a passion for growing this type of company — a software platform company — from 250 people to thousands of people.” He said on Tuesday that Kingdon’s history of overseeing complex projects paired with overall management expertise made him the most attractive candidate despite the lack of an explicit technology background.

“I would call myself a very balanced general manager. While I don’t come from a technology background I’ve been working with technology for my entire career,” Kingdon said in a joint phone interview with Rosedale.

Kingdon wrote a widely-read column in August, 2006 touting Second Life as an attractive opportunity for marketers. In the months after his piece was published, numerous blue-chip real-world companies entered Second Life. However, a subsequent backlash led many of them to pull back. He said that bringing back big brands was not a priority.

“Maybe it was the right place but definitely the wrong time for most big brands,” Kingdon said. “I’d like to see a continuation and even acceleration of the incredible in-world development we’ve seen from engaged, highly participative residents. that will create the richness of experience and vibrant economy that’s so important. If there are companies that can participate in the organic growth of Second Life, it’s a great place for them.”

Kingdon added that he plans to “magnify the very best” of Linden Lab’s quirky corporate culture, which currently allows employees to choose which projects they want to work on.

“But, I also believe that in highly creative, innovative cultures, that people have to be voluntarily aligned with a direction. As much as possible it’s essential that they choose their focus,” he said.

在线销售主管被选为林登实验室新任CEO

林登实验室星期二宣布在线销售主管Mark Kingdon被选为新任CEO。
    Kindon是数码销售代理Organic Inc的CEO,也是普华永道公司以前的大股东。5月15日，他将从罗斯代尔手中接管林登实验室日常的管理和经营。罗斯代尔将成为林登实验室的主席，致力于产品­开发和战略策划。

Kingdon描述：2007年1月他注册了SL，名为Marcus Voom，但他并不是一个活跃的用户。"M Linden"是他的新化身。 3月份，罗斯代尔曾告诉路透社记者林登实验室正在寻找对软件平台这一类型公司有经验和热情的人。罗斯代尔星期二表示，Kindon凭借着他对复杂项目的管理历史­及其全面的管理技术知识，成为了最具吸引力的候选人。 
   "我认为我是一个很普通经理。虽然我不是出自于技术背景，但在我职业生涯中，我的工作会一直与技术密不可分。"Kindon在一次电话采访中和罗斯代尔说。
  

Kindon在2006年8月份写了一篇广泛传读的文章为SL招徕客户。他的文章发表后的一个月，很多真实世界中一流的公司进入了SL.然而，紧随其后的反弹，­导致很多公司折回。他说将大品牌引入SL并不是重点。 "对大部分公司而言SL也许是一个很合适的场所，只是时间不恰当。"Kingdon说。"我想看到SL的后续，以及SL中的迅猛发展，高度的参与的居民。"那将­会创造丰富的经验和充满生气的经济体系，那非常重要。如果有公司可以参与到SL的成长中，SL是很不错的选择。 
    Kingdon补充说他计划将继续发扬林登实验室古怪的企业文化（林登实验室可以让雇员选择他们想做事情)。 
    kingdon说："但是，我也相信在高度创造性和创新的文化中，人们会不得不主动寻找一个方向。尽可能多的选择重点是非常必要的。"

本文由Second Life中文网金玉萍翻译。