Redwood City, CA Ð Following the departure of NeXT President Peter van Cuylenburg, CEO Steve Jobs has stabilized the company's organization into a flat structure with almost all positions filled.
But with the planned buyout of the hardware division by Canon, cofounder George Crow, the last of the original five who started the company with Jobs in 1985, has left the company.
The new org chart shows that there is no longer a divisional structure to the company. A mix of five directors and vice-presidents report directly to Jobs. Twenty-two directors and managers form a second tier of middle management for the 200-person company. The remaining hardware-division employees do not appear on the new org chart because of their impending transfer to Canon.
NeXT sources also said the company is close to hiring a North American sales and marketing vice-president.
Perhaps the biggest new personnel change is that Jobs has relinquished day-to-day management of the software group. Paul Hegarty has been named director of engineering, with Jean-Marie Hullot becoming chief technical officer.
Despite initial fears, NeXT weathered the departure of Van Cuylenburg with few ripples. Sources said that Van Cuylenburg's departure capped months of tension with Jobs. The former president remains as a consultant and reportedly received a rich payout that reflected guarantees he received from NeXT to lure him from Mercury Communications.