A man who was recently singled out as Ottawa's CEO of the year announced his resignation from Corel Software on Monday.
Dave Dobson had been in the top spot for almost three years as the company tried to renew itself and develop new revenues.
During his reign, Corel's stock price failed to climb and a few weeks ago the largest shareholder said it wanted to buy full control of the company and take the firm private.
But in a telephone interview with CTV News, Dobson said his departure had "absolutely nothing to do" with efforts by Corel shareholder Vector to take full control of the company and take it private.
Personal choice
Dobson says his departure is instead due to a business opportunity and a change in his personal life.
He will now be on the payroll of an unnamed Fortune 500 firm based in the northeastern United States.
For the last three years, Dobson says his family has been living in his hometown of Toronto while he's been constantly on the road while working for Corel. He says his new job will allow him to live in the same city as his family.
Dobson won't say which company he's now employed with but he did tell CTV News his new job will require regular travel back to the Capital.
CEO of the year
Although he was named CEO of the year for 2007, Dobson refused to offer any advice for Ottawa's tech sector upon his departure.
He did say employees are the only key to future success and he feels his legacy at Corel is leaving "people who know how to be successful."
Company growth
Since Dobson came on board, Corel has grown from 400 employees to 1,200; most of those jobs, however, are in Europe and Asia. Despite growth, the company's stock price was unable to shift into high gear.
Dobson says it was an "honour" to work for Corel and he would have had no problem staying with the company if he hadn't got his most recent job offer.
Corel, meanwhile, has already started its search for a new CEO.
With a report from CTV's Paul Brent
