Unity Software (NYSE:U) stock surged Tuesday after the company said CEO John Riccitiello would retire. Unity added that James M. Whitehurst would assume the interim chief role.
Roelof Botha, Lead Independent Director of the Unity Board, The Board will initiate a comprehensive search process, with the assistance of a leading executive search firm, to identify a permanent CEO.
“Working with Unity under John's leadership has been one of the highlights of my career. John joined the Unity Board in 2013 and stepped in to lead the Company in 2014, at a time when we faced significant challenges,” Botha said. “John has led Unity through incredible growth over the last nearly 10 years, helping us transition from a perpetual license to a subscription model, enabling developers to monetize, building other game services to serve our creator community, leading us through an IPO and positioning us as a pioneer in the developer community. Unity would not be where it is today without the impact of his contributions. I remain excited for the future of Unity.”
Whitehurst is a seasoned technology and public company executive. He previously served as Senior Advisor and President at IBM (NYSE:IBM), after joining through IBM’s acquisition of Red Hat, a leading provider of open source enterprise IT products and services, where he served as President and Chief Executive Officer from 2008 to 2020.
U shares climbed $1.35, or 4.6%, to begin Tuesday at $31.05.
