Former iPod guru takes Palm's helm
It's no accident that the new Palm Pre smartphone is compatible with Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) More about Apple iTunes. The man who helped Steve Jobs turn the iPod and its online music store into a digital revolution is the same man who has helped design the Pre and its well-reviewed webOS operating system.
Now that man, Jon Rubinstein, will be the new Palm chairman and CEO, replacing 16-year company veteran Ed Colligan. Shareholders have expectations that a Rubinstein-led Palm will sync with the kind of success Apple has enjoyed over the last 12 years.
Palm made the transition announcement after the end of Wednesday's stock trading. "Ed and I have worked very hard together the past two years, and I'm grateful to him for everything he's done to help set the company up for success," Rubinstein said. "With Palm webOS, we have 10-plus years of innovation ahead of us, and the Palm Pre is already one of the year's hottest new products. Due in no small part to Ed's courageous leadership, we're in great shape to get Palm back to continuous growth, and we plan to keep the trajectory going upward."
Colligan now heads the private equity firm Elevation Partners, while Rubinstein, who joined Palm in late 2007, now gets the challenge of forging Palm's new path in smartphones and mobile operating systems.
