Opera CEO and co-founder steps down

Jon von Tetzchner co-founded Opera in 1995

Browser maker Opera Software has announced that its co-founder and chief executive Jon von Tetzchner is stepping down, to be replaced at the helm by chief commercial officer Lars Boilesen.

Von Tetzchner, who founded the Norwegian company in 1995 and has served as chief executive since that time, will continue to work for the firm but in a " strategic and independent" capacity, according to Opera.

Boilesen has more than 20 years of management and sales and marketing experience at big name technology companies such as Alcatel-Lucent and Tandberg Data.

In his first stint at Opera from 2000 to 2005 as executive vice president of sales, Boilesen played an important role in transforming the company from a desktop browser vendor into a proponent of cross-platform browsing, the firm said.

Prior to rejoining Opera in January 2009 as chief commercial officer, Boilesen served on Opera Software's board of directors as vice chairman.

"I am impressed with what Opera has achieved under Jon's leadership," said Boilesen. "Our focus going forward is to execute on our current strategy and continue to deliver the best browser experience to the breadth of our customer and user base."