Leadership Changes Afoot at Motion Computing

I just got off the phone with Motion Computing and they have announced some leadership changes at the top of the company. Scott Eckert has resigned as CEO, being replaced by David Altounian. In addition to serving as CEO, David will be joined by Eric Harslem as co-chairmen of the board. In addition to these structure changes, and the recently announced $6 million in funding, Motion also confirmed that there were also additional layoffs.

Here is the press release:

Motion Computing ®, a leader in mobile computing and wireless communications, announced today that it has appointed David Altounian as chief executive officer and co-chairman of the board of directors, effective immediately. Eric Harslem, an original Motion investor and founding board member, will also serve as co-chairman of the board.

Altounian, the founding member of Motion’s executive team, rejoined the company in July 2008 as president and chief operating officer. From 2001 to 2005 he held several leadership roles at Motion. Prior to joining the board, he focused on technology strategy and future products as chief technology officer, and before that oversaw both marketing and engineering functions. As COO, David assumed responsibility for many of Motion’s day-to-day activities, including strengthening critical relationships with key technology and development partners.

Harslem is one of the original investors in Motion and has been on the board since the founding of the company. He was formerly senior vice president of product development and CTO at Dell, and general manager of desktop products at Apple, where he managed the development of the Macintosh.

““As the company’s founder, David clearly understands the opportunities in front of Motion,” said Harslem. ““As an outstanding motivator and excellent operational manager he is an ideal leader for Motion in the next phase of the company’s development."

Scott Eckert is resigning as CEO, but will remain on the board.

““Scott was instrumental in every stage of growth from inception through each round of funding and we would like to thank him for his countless contributions,” said Harslem. ““Under Scott’s leadership, Motion developed its vertical market strategy and multiple generations of award-winning products, which led to Motion becoming the worldwide market leader in its category.”

Also announced today is the appointment of Paul Hsiao, a partner at New Enterprise Associates (NEA), to the board. NEA, a Motion investor, is a leading venture capital firm focused on the information technology and healthcare sectors and has funded approximately 550 companies to date.

““We welcome Paul as an addition to the Motion board,” said Altounian. ““His proven track record in developing high-growth companies will be a valuable asset as we move the company forward.”

Motion recently announced $6 million in funding from NEA, Institutional Venture Partners, G-51 Capital and other investors. The funds will be used to drive continued expansion into target vertical markets and support international growth opportunities.

Motion develops integrated mobile solutions for vertical markets and is the leading provider of slate tablet PCs. Founded in 2001, Motion has relationships with hundreds of valued software and hardware partners worldwide, and sells through over 1300 leading resellers in 25 countries across North America, Europe, Australia, Asia and the Middle East.