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OnLive founder Steve Perlman is out: investor Gary Lauder assumes control

OnLive founder Steve Perlman is out: investor Gary Lauder assumes control

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Steve Perlman has departed OnLive, and investor Gary Lauder has become chairman of the board.

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Last week, OnLive said that founder Steve Perlman would stay on as the new CEO, after the company underwent a painful insolvency that resulted in the dissolution of the original cloud gaming company and the creation of a new entity. Not anymore. Steve is "departing to work on his myriad of other projects," according to a new press release release, which presently include a promising wireless technology called DIDO, and possibly other stealth projects at his incubator Rearden Labs. Gary Lauder, the sole investor in the new OnLive, is taking over as chairman of the board, and Charlie Jablonski, the former head of operations, will become COO and acting CEO.

As founder, Perlman was the majority shareholder in the original OnLive, but when the company used an insolvency tool known as Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors, all the stock in the company (including his) was reportedly wiped out. After purchasing the assets of OnLive, Gary Lauder originally told reporters that he hoped and expected that Perlman would stay on as CEO, but our sources inside the company told us that employees were asking for Perlman's permanent resignation before they would consider employment with the new firm. OnLive tells us that Etienne Handman, former COO, will continue on as CFO going forward, and the press release suggests that the company is currently looking to hire business development and marketing executives.

Here's OnLive's press release in full:

OnLive, the pioneer of instant-action cloud computing, announced today that Gary Lauder, the lead investor in OnLive and the Managing Director of Lauder Partners LLC, will become the new Chairman. The company also announced that Charlie Jablonski, the former head of OnLive operations, will become OnLive's COO and acting CEO. Steve Perlman, OnLive's founder and former President and CEO, is departing to work on his myriad of other projects. "Steve has created an extraordinary company that no one else could have created. He is a unique entrepreneur and deserves his legendary status in Silicon Valley as a creator of groundbreaking companies," said Chairman Gary Lauder.

The new OnLive is emerging with greater financial security and a brighter outlook on the future. OnLive is now positioned to execute against longer-term projects with our breakthrough technology, products and services," said Lauder, also adding, "I spent my first week with OnLive listening, to gather people’s thoughts and suggestions. It’s an impressive group, and I am even more convinced that this company is poised for greatness."

The company plans to continue building the OnLive management team in key categories as the company delivers on its mission of breaking new ground in cloud services both for games and remote application delivery to thin devices, legacy platforms or any platforms with a fast connection. The new OnLive is looking to hire great people for the business development team, as well as a senior marketing leader.