MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Lytro Inc. announced today that Jason Rosenthal has been appointed as the company’s new chief executive officer, effective April 15th. He replaces interim CEO Charles Chi, who will remain closely involved as a member of Lytro’s board of directors, representing Greylock Partners. Founder and former CEO Ren Ng will remain in his role as executive chairman, focusing on product vision and advancing light field photography science.
“In our search for the right leader to take Lytro into its next phase of growth, we sought someone with the talent to amplify what the company has started, the experience to drive our talented team and ambitious roadmap, and the determination to transform photography in profound and lasting ways,” said Chi. “Jason embodies all of that with a proven track record of leading teams that brought the future to life at organizations like Netscape, AOL, and Ning. His passion and expertise made him the perfect choice to lead Lytro into its next chapter.”
“Lytro has already made tremendous strides towards its vision of revolutionizing photography as we know it,” said Rosenthal. “The management team has assembled a talented organization of photography pioneers and product visionaries and I’m proud to be leading them as Lytro continues to help the world realize the vast creative potential of the light field and living pictures.”
Rosenthal brings more than 20 years of experience in operating and product management roles. Prior to joining Lytro, he was an Operating Executive at Silver Lake, a global technology investment firm. Rosenthal will remain a Senior Advisor to Silver Lake.
Previously, Rosenthal was CEO of Ning, which was acquired by Glam Media. At Ning, Rosenthal led the company’s successful transition from a free, ad-supported service to a premium subscription model reaching over 60 million monthly active users.
Before joining Ning, Rosenthal held executive positions at HP and Opsware (formerly Loudcloud) and led product teams at AOL and Netscape. He holds a B.A. in history from Pomona College, where he serves on the board of trustees, and he received his M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
About Lytro
Lytro is transforming the camera into a powerful computational photography platform, forever changing the way everyone takes and experiences pictures. The first Lytro Light Field Camera offers photographic capabilities never before possible, such as focusing a picture after it’s taken, and creates interactive living pictures that can be endlessly refocused and enjoyed by friends and family online. Founder and Executive Chairman Ren Ng, whose Ph.D. research on light field photography won Stanford University’s prize for best thesis in computer science in 2006 as well as the internationally recognized ACM Dissertation award, founded the company in 2006.
For additional information, visit Lytro.com.