Mozilla gets a new boss: SAP mobile exec Gary Kovacs

Mozilla has announced that its next CEO will be Gary Kovacs, who is currently chief of mobile products at SAP. Kovacs will replace outgoing Mozilla CEO John Lilly, who recently stepped down from the role when he joined venture capital firm Greylock Partners.

Prior to his work at SAP, Kovacs played key roles at Macromedia and Adobe. In a blog entry about the new executive selection, Lilly says that Kovacs' background in mobile and multimedia makes him a good fit for Mozilla as the organization continues to focus on opening up rich media on the Web and gaining a foothold in the mobile browser market.

Mozilla began to seriously pursue the mobile browser market in 2007 with the launch of the Fennec project, which replaced the earlier, unsuccessful Minimo effort. Fennec has delivered a competitive Firefox port for Nokia's Maemo operating system and an experimental Android version that shows some promise. Kovacs brings Mozilla the benefit of his knowledge of the mobile ecosystem at a critical stage in the evolution of the organization's mobile strategy. As mobile Firefox matures and becomes suitable for mainstream adoption in the next year or two, he could help ensure that it will have the desired impact on the market.

Mozilla isn't an ordinary company, however, and will require its new leader to adapt to its mission-centric view of technology. Mitchell Baker, a former Mozilla CEO and current Mozilla Foundation Chairperson, says that Kovacs fits the bill. Baker and Lilly, who headed the six-month process to find the right candidate, both cite Kovac's communication skills and affinity for collaboration as factors that cemented him as the best choice.

Although Mozilla has a strong community and a widely-recognized product, the organization is in a challenging position where it is financially dependent on Google, one of its most substantial browser competitors. In addition to moving Mozilla's mobile agenda forward, Kovacs will also be managing that relationship. His business savvy could be important if it becomes necessary for Mozilla to seek more diverse revenue sources.