Michal Ždanský According to by CNBC editor John Fortt Chief Technology Officer Kevin Lynch is leaving Adobe to join Apple. The details of this transition between the companies are not yet known, but Fortt says it is a done deal.
Kevin Lynch has been working at Adobe since 2005, when Macromedia was acquired, which he was previously a part of. He worked his way up to the position of Chief Technical Director three years later. Lynch was primarily responsible for the development of the Dreamweaver application for Internet publishing. When Steve Jobs declared war on the "Flash" technology, first by deciding not to support it on the iPhone and later on the iPad, and also with the "Thoughts on Flash" that Jobs published on Apple's website, Lynch became a vocal defender of the technology.
Nevertheless, Apple managed to almost banish Flash from mobile platforms. Despite the mutual tensions, the two companies continued to maintain a healthy business relationship. Adobe is still one of the largest developers of Mac applications, although not exclusively, as it was before the company decided to develop its Photoshop-led creative suite for Windows as well.
Lynch is expected to join Apple in the role of Vice President of Technology, reporting directly to Bob Mansfield. It should happen within the next week.
The departure to Apple was also confirmed by Adobe itself in its statement for AllThingsD:
Adobe CTO Kevin Lynch is leaving the company as of March 22 to join Apple. We will not be looking for a replacement for the CTO position; the responsibility for technology development falls to the representatives of our business division under the leadership of Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen. Bryan Lamkin, who recently moved to Adobe, will assume responsibility for R&D as well as Corporate Development. We wish Kevin the best in this new chapter of his career.
Source: Twitter, Gigaom.com
Well, I wonder what Apple is up to. Own DTP, web program?