Steve Jobs’ death clears way for Adobe CTO defection
“Long-standing chief technology officer Kevin Lynch has left Adobe, but why?” Tim Anderson writes for The Register. “It’s Flash that Lynch has been closely associated with in recent years. And Steve Jobs barred Flash from all our futures by blocking it from the iPhone and iPad.”
“So, why is Lynch leaving Adobe? The news comes in the context of turbulent change for the company,” Anderson writes. “Adobe’s product strategy was once built on Flash, a strategy that was killed by Apple which refused to allow it on the iPhone and iPad.”
Anderson writes, “One interpretation is that Apple considers Lynch a strategic hire to assist with its own transition towards cloud services, and to realise the potential of iCloud… It is also possible that Lynch had become a poor fit at Adobe, following its transition to digital media and digital marketing… Some observers consider that Lynch was too much wedded to Flash to be comfortable in the new Adobe. I have heard that he was opposed to the moves to cut back on Flash investment, placing him in an uncomfortable position once the deal was done.”
