RealNetworks Names Former Adobe Exec Thomas Nielsen As CEO

After the company’s former CEO Bob Kimball resigned in March of this year, RealNetworks has announced that its board of directors has named Thomas Nielsen as its new president and chief executive officer. Nielsen, who will also become a member of its Board of Directors, starts at RealNetworks on November 9th.

Nielsen most recently served as vice president of the Digital Imaging Group at Adobe, leading the business unit for the company’s largest product line which includes Photoshop, Elements and Lightroom, in addition to mobile, web and tablet solutions. While at the helm of Adobe’s Digital Imaging Group, Nielsen was responsible for over $500 million in revenue. Prior to Adobe, Nielsen spent five years at Microsoft in the digital media space.

Nielsen will be taking over from Mike Lunsford, who has served as interim CEO since March 2011.

RealNetworks company founder and board chairman Rob Glaser said in a statement: “After an extensive and thorough search, we’re delighted to have selected Thomas as our new CEO…Thomas is a terrific product executive who has also demonstrated exceptional business and leadership skills. He’s a perfect fit to take RealNetworks into the future. We will leverage Thomas’ extensive background in customer-driven product strategy and delivery to ensure RealNetworks’ strategic plan is focused and optimized for growth.”

RealNetworks has gone through tumultuous and transitional times of late. Kimball left suddenly, and the company’s stock has been on a decline. Hopefully Nielsen can help steady the company back into direction.