Mozilla is one of the biggest players in the open-source software business. Mozilla Firefox is currently the second most popular browser in the world for years, offering users access to the internet. However, the last few years have been divisive for the organization. Mozilla CEO Brenden Eich stepped down from his position in 2013 after someone had discovered he donated to Proposition 8 in the past. Now, Mozilla's vice president is stepping down.
Johnathan Nightingale has been at Mozilla for 8+ years and worked his way up the ranks to earn his title. At the time of this piece, Nightingale currently manages Firefox and the various updates the software is going through. However, he posted a blog post last Tuesday stating that he planned on stepping down from his position on March 31st.
According to the post, Nightingale hadn't been "poached" by another company or fired for some unknown reason. He just wanted to relax for a time.
"I want to take some time to catch up on what's happened in the world around me. I want to take some time with my kid before she finishes her too-fast sprint to adulthood. I want to plant deeper roots in Toronto tech, which is incredibly exciting right now and may be a place where I can help."
Is Nightingale leaving Mozilla hanging? He doesn't think so. He says that "Mozilla today is stronger than I've seen it in a long time." However, the fact that Nightingale's departure is one in a series of employees leaving the company for "greener pastures" seems like proof that Mozilla may have dark days ahead of it.
Mozilla has not commented on Nightingale's departure, or on who his replacement will be.
