Mozilla foundation's new CEO causes concern due to anti-gay-marriage views

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in legal on (#3HA)
story imageThe guy co-founded Mozilla and served as Netscape's chief architect . He invented Javascript . He's been Mozilla's chief technical officer for 9 years. On March 24th, Brendan Eich became the Mozilla Foundation's CEO - and members of Mozilla's staff promptly demanded that he step down . Why? Because Brendan Eich is anti-gay-marriage.

The BBC , CFO World , and others are reporting that online dating site OK Cupid is notifying users of Firefox of the views of the Mozilla Foundation's new CEO - and requesting that they use another browser to access the site. It's not quite a boycott - users can still click through to access the site while using Firefox - but it's definitely a statement. This isn't the first time this kind of thing has happened. Hobby Lobby , Chick-Fil-A , and Costco have all experienced similar backlashes.

Mark Surman, XO of Mozilla, says:
"I worry that we do a bad job of explaining ourselves, that people are angry and don't know who we are or where we stand. And, I worry that in the time it takes to work this through and explain ourselves the things I love about Mozilla will be deeply damaged."

At what point do a person's political, personal, or religious views outweigh their qualifications for leadership - and does using Firefox in any way imply support of these views?

When it hurts the company (Score: 2, Insightful)

by beldin@pipedot.org on 2014-04-02 10:29 (#Y2)

The job of a CEO is to lead the company. If his/her personal views are affecting the public image of the company, the use of the company's products, and the effectiveness of the company's employees, then that is a problem for the company.
If it makes business sense for Mozilla to have a different CEO, then they should appoint a different CEO. If what Mr. Eich brings outweighs any negative effects (incurred and expected) wrt. any other potential CEOs, then, by all means, keep him.

But I don't believe that there are no other candidates who are also well-qualified, and who would not kick up this kind of reaction.
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