Jon S. von Tetzchner is leaving Opera

June 25, 2011 · by Espen André Øverdahl

From its humble beginnings, Opera's co-founder (you can see him and Geir Ivarsøy making the first bits of Opera code in the top left corner in our header image) Jon von Tetzcher's vision and leadership has made his company into the proud icon that it is today. Now, a year and a half after stepping down as CEO, he has announced that he is leaving. Once a company grows, a change in leadership style is often be required as the complexities increase and dynamics of an organization change.

Jon's passion for technology certainly hasn't dwindled in the last years, and he has ideas for new projects, but is keeping the details to himself for now. All of us at Opera wish Jon the best in the future - he will surely be missed!

Readers' comments 50

Left under the original article, as archived; 1 page of comments could not be recovered.

DanieleSaturday, June 25, 2011 9:50:24 AM
That's really a shame...
Ishak NumanagicSaturday, June 25, 2011 9:52:46 AM
"he will surely be missed" - definitely
TamilSaturday, June 25, 2011 9:55:33 AM
Opera without ?
ouzowtfSaturday, June 25, 2011 9:57:54 AM
HurrSaturday, June 25, 2011 9:57:55 AM
In an internal e-mail he mentioned
It has become clear that The Board, Management and I do not share the same values and we do not have the same opinions on how to keep evolving Opera.

I don't know if this is good or bad for the users. Maybe he wanted some things in his beloved Opera products, but the board wanted nothing but money? It can be the other way around too, easily. All we can do is speculate. But then again, I don't know if the actual top of the company make decisions about the features of products and whatnot, instead of just the business decisions and business model of the company.

Lets hope the Opera products as it is do not lack quality in the future for money. Then again, better quality = more users = more money.

In any case, I hope the company keeps trying to make a product for us, like it has always done.
thobiSaturday, June 25, 2011 10:01:42 AM
all the best for whatever the future might bring, jon!
mega7starSaturday, June 25, 2011 10:12:51 AM
And that he did not share with the board and management? Of course, a pity that one of the founders of Opera Software is leaving the company
DanieleSaturday, June 25, 2011 10:14:13 AM
Originally posted by HuRRaCaNe:

It has become clear that The Board, Management and I do not share the same values and we do not have the same opinions on how to keep evolving Opera.

Please tell me that Opera is not on sale. I know that John always wanted to keep Opera a separate company, but this news makes me think that Opera Software could be acquired by a bigger company...
HurrSaturday, June 25, 2011 10:16:37 AM
Originally posted by darklink88:

Please tell me that Opera is not on sale.

Well, that's a harsh statement. He hasn't been CEO for a year and a half before this, so they could've sold Opera already if they wanted to.

Besides, after more and more manufacturers use Opera products (tv's, set-top boxes, phones, even adobe for their Creative Suite) Opera is becoming the one buying things instead of being bought.
Samed AyanSaturday, June 25, 2011 10:21:25 AM
AlexeySaturday, June 25, 2011 10:56:00 AM
Let's just hope that Opera won't repeat history of Apple, which started declining after its founder left, and the only way to bring it back to the top was to return him back.
BugfixerSaturday, June 25, 2011 10:57:08 AM
This makes me very sad.
I wanna thank Mr. von Tetzchner for this great company. Opera is one of the most important software on my system.

Thank you, Mr. von Tetzchner!!!
SejiSaturday, June 25, 2011 11:24:15 AM
Jon,

Thank you for Opera browsers!
earth01Saturday, June 25, 2011 11:26:00 AM
Bad week
Thank you so much

But now, don't forget to focus on bug fixing, and make sure not to remove any feature of the browser.

Hope the best for the future
Obese MauriceSaturday, June 25, 2011 12:23:08 PM
What does that mean now? Is Opera on sale?
justmeSaturday, June 25, 2011 12:24:05 PM
Thanks Jon. I wish you all the best. Hopefully, you will make new successes with your same basic vision!
Ryan OctavianusSaturday, June 25, 2011 12:28:54 PM
Thanks Jon!
HenrySaturday, June 25, 2011 12:51:26 PM
..yes, all the very best.. thanks Jon!
Opera Press: ! "We are aiming at 500 million users by 2013, and we have a very positive flow right now."

Opera
..i'm going to play Queens of the stone age very very loud.
Aleksander AasSaturday, June 25, 2011 1:28:08 PM
Originally posted by ObeseMaurice:

What does that mean now? Is Opera on sale?

Nope, Opera will still be going strong and independent. Look at the quarterly presentations and you'll see that we are strong, independent and secure
JoelSaturday, June 25, 2011 1:37:24 PM

I'm not happy with this type of notice. I don't want to think that Opera will take a bad direction...

Thanks Jon, good luck!
Obese MauriceSaturday, June 25, 2011 1:53:47 PM
Originally posted by Aleksander:

Originally posted by ObeseMaurice:
What does that mean now? Is Opera on sale?
Nope, Opera will still be going strong and independent. Look at the quarterly presentations and you'll see that we are strong, independent and secure

Will do. It's nice to hear that.
Manuel Andreas KuhnSaturday, June 25, 2011 2:37:29 PM
Only when the last quarter has come, you will understand that you can not stand in the market only by quarterly results...
Opera Board & Management, do not overdo it!
IvanSaturday, June 25, 2011 2:40:39 PM
celiochidoSaturday, June 25, 2011 2:49:20 PM
Opera without Jon S. von Tetzchner, it's like Linux Without Torvalds

please come back
random414Saturday, June 25, 2011 3:08:42 PM

I didn't liked the idea when he left from the CEO position,
and now he leaves from Opera.

WHY?
ASRUL SYAMSaturday, June 25, 2011 3:25:58 PM
We will always miss you
Enoch 'Robot Boy' Appiah JuniorSaturday, June 25, 2011 3:49:50 PM
we gonna miss you Jon.
d4rkn1ghtSaturday, June 25, 2011 4:30:03 PM
t7yangSaturday, June 25, 2011 4:46:37 PM
Arun KumarSaturday, June 25, 2011 5:23:23 PM

God bless him..
ØSaturday, June 25, 2011 6:30:25 PM
interesting changes

how this translates for users and for the software itself?.
inbasketSaturday, June 25, 2011 7:15:14 PM
interesting....
ChiragSaturday, June 25, 2011 8:23:01 PM
I've had the privilege of meeting Mr. Jon von Tetzchner in person at the Opera meet in Mumbai and not only is he a brilliant coder and manager, he also has a great personality....

We will surely meet you, sir....

Btw, I remember you saying you keep an eye on the Opera forums, but don't post, m sure you're reading this as well
PeterSaturday, June 25, 2011 8:23:53 PM
As the saying goes: "If one door closes, a other door opens"
Good luck Jon and thanks for your hard work.
SteveKongSaturday, June 25, 2011 8:38:42 PM
Good luck at your new projects!
D1sasterp1eceSaturday, June 25, 2011 9:13:50 PM
A tough choice for Mr. Tetzchner, but let's hope it's also the right one.
Bjørn VermoSaturday, June 25, 2011 10:21:00 PM
Originally posted by HuRRaCaNe:

...
I don't know if this is good or bad for the users. Maybe he wanted some things in his beloved Opera products, but the board wanted nothing but money? It can be the other way around too, easily. All we can do is speculate. But then again, I don't know if the actual top of the company make decisions about the features of products and whatnot, instead of just the business decisions and business model of the company.

I think this is about Jón's fundamental values. Those are the values that made the company survive through the dotcom crisis and the many years before that. He has always placed his principles and long-term goals ahead of quarterly results.

This is one of the problems for a successful and innovative company that has gone public - it will attract investors who are only in it for the money, and who want short-term results. For instance, it is no secret that Jón had a clash with Morgan Stanley at the shareholders meeting a few years ago. That time he got his way, but in the long term a publicly traded company will have to reflect the goals of its major shareholders.

My guess is that he has saved himself a lot of frustrations, and that the shares will increase in value - but I fear for some of the internal dynamics and values that have made the company and the product what it is. Users will probably not notice any negative impact, at least not in the short run.
GarySaturday, June 25, 2011 10:31:33 PM
Wow, what a loss!
ArntSunday, June 26, 2011 12:24:28 AM
A sad sad day for Opera Software. I wish you all the best, Jon!
Siavash KeshmiriSunday, June 26, 2011 11:13:25 AM
Originally posted by Tamil:

Opera without ?
abdur92Sunday, June 26, 2011 11:41:42 AM
Good bye, Jon. Thank-you for making opera the way it is today. You will be missed.
Good luck. :-)
Charles SchlossSunday, June 26, 2011 2:02:17 PM
http://files.myopera.com/Tamil/Smilies/Sad.gif -
Shane BundySunday, June 26, 2011 2:20:26 PM
Originally posted by Tamil:

Opera without ?

No = Me
netwolfSunday, June 26, 2011 3:25:36 PM
Some background info:

Dear All,

It is with a heavy heart that I send this message. Next week will be my
last at Opera. It has become clear that The Board, Management and I do not
share the same values and we do not have the same opinions on how to keep
evolving Opera. As a result I have come to an agreement with the Board to
end my time at Opera. I feel the Board and Management is more quarterly
focused than me. I have always worked to build the company for the future.
I believe the foundation we have is very solid to build further upon.

I do believe strongly in Opera as a company, and in all of you working
here. Our products actually make a difference for a lot of people in the
world, and I wish you all the best of luck moving forward. I will be
following the company closely and rooting for you all.

Yours truly,
Jon.

Apparently Jon left the company because the board is more focused on quarterly reports and money than on making a good, solid product (which is not a good sign IMHO)

(source: http://techcrunch.com/2011/06/24/opera-founder-jon-s-von-tetzchner-resigns-over-differences-with-board/ )
resiusSunday, June 26, 2011 4:10:52 PM
anglerSunday, June 26, 2011 4:49:40 PM
I wish Jon good luck in whatever he ends up doing. I'm now worried about what decisions will be made in the future at Opera.
netwolfSunday, June 26, 2011 5:04:57 PM
As you can see here, the main part of the long term strategy is "publisher advertising", "monetzing the user base", "growing profit"...
http://media.opera.com/media/finance/2011/cmd2011.pdf
AsiresSunday, June 26, 2011 5:52:40 PM
Originally posted by netwolf:

As you can see here, the main part of the long term strategy is "publisher advertising", "monetzing the user base", "growing profit"

These USA $ looks suspiciously
ChirpieSunday, June 26, 2011 8:40:16 PM
Originally posted by HuRRaCaNe:

In an internal e-mail he mentioned
It has become clear that The Board, Management and I do not share the same values and we do not have the same opinions on how to keep evolving Opera.
He did? I have not seen any verification whatsoever that this is a real mail.
ChirpieSunday, June 26, 2011 8:45:18 PM
Originally posted by netwolf:

Apparently Jon left the company because the board is more focused on quarterly reports and money than on making a good, solid product (which is not a good sign IMHO)
All of that based on an unverified email? Where did you get the idea that they aren't focusing on making a good product?

Did you know that Jon hasn't been in charge of Opera for nearly 2 years?

Originally posted by netwolf:

As you can see here, the main part of the long term strategy is "publisher advertising", "monetzing the user base", "growing profit"...
http://media.opera.com/media/finance/2011/cmd2011.pdf
Oh no! Making money! Growing profits! How terrible!

Talk about selective reading. Ignore the "it's all about users" part. Ignore the "strategy for growth: Consumer focus" part. Ignore how monetization can happen through optional services.

Guess what, all companies need to monetize their products. If you can't handle that, you should use Mozilla. Oh wait! Mozilla Corp. is the commercial part of Mozilla, which is also supposed to monetize Mozilla products!

You are out of luck, then. Monetizing users is evil, and everyone is doing it. Even the people you bought your computer from. Evil!

Are you a Communist, since you think a business isn't supposed to make money?