Mike Shaver, vice president of technical strategy at Mozilla and an influential Firefox executive, is leaving the nonprofit that develops the open-source browser.

Shaver had worked directly for Mozilla for six years, though he worked longer before that as part of the volunteer community around the software project. He announced the departure on his blog yesterday:

I've decided that it's time for me to move on from the Mozilla Corporation, where I have enjoyed 6 years surrounded by incredible people doing incredible things on (and to) the Web. I haven't yet decided what's next, though I have some exciting opportunities to explore. I am still truly, madly, deeply in love with Mozilla and the Web it is building, and grateful for the opportunities that it's created for me.

Mozilla's executive face has changed a bit over the last year. Former Chief Executive John Lilly left to join venture capital firm Graylock Partners. He was replaced by Gary Kovacs. And in 2011, Mike Beltzner, Mozilla's director of Firefox, departed. Mozilla also re-absorbed its messaging group that develops the Thunderbird e-mail software.

Several Mozilla faithful, including ... [Read more]