Kamar Aulakh, CEO of graphics software giant Quark, Incorporated, has abruptly left the Denver-based company, according to industry sources. Reasons for his leaving are not being given at this time.
Aulakh succeeded CEO Fred Ebrahimi in 2003 (who remains with Quark as chairman of the board of directors), being promoted from vice-president of research and development. In replacing Ebrahimi, a leader who developed a reputation of disdain toward his customers, particularly toward Macintosh users-a style which seemed to set the corporate tone for Quark-Aulakh promised a new era of customer-centered corporate behavior.
Conventional wisdom seems to hold that the changes Aulakh instituted have been in the main positive and have moved Quark in the direction it needs to be moving. Such changes as unlimited free email tech support (formerly just one free support request) and free upgrades from XPress 6 to XPress 6.5 have turned many heads. Quark still suffers from a tendency to send a mixed message, though, as the now-infamous Postcards from the Edge will attest.
In the interim, Linda Chase, senior VP of commerce product development, will serve as CEO, while Quark contracts with an outside company to find Aulakh's replacement.
Implications for the near-term future of Quark and its flagship product, XPress, remain unclear, though the rumored rollout of the next version of XPress, Version 7, seems to still be on track, though the date is still a matter of conjecture.
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By Samuel John Klein of Portland, Oregon - Graphic Designer without Portfolio, aspiring artist who dawdled too long.
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