Intuit CEO Leaving in December

Four months after a database problem prevented thousands of U.S. users from paying their taxes on time, Intuit Inc.'s chief executive announced plans to step down.

Steve Bennett, Intuit's president and CEO, has run the company for eight years and said he's leaving at the end of this year to "take some time off and explore the next challenge in my life." He will remain on the company's board of directors after his departure and will serve as an advisor through the company's current fiscal year, which ends in July 2008.

Intuit's board of directors tapped Brad Smith to replace Bennett on January 1, 2008. Smith currently serves as the senior vice president responsible for the company's Small Business Division, and will remain in that role before taking over as president and CEO.

Intuit credited Bennett with tripling the company's revenue during his tenure. But Bennett was also forced to apologize recently for a database problem that prevented 200,000 TurboTax software users from filing their U.S. taxes on time in April.

There was no indication that Bennett's resignation is tied to the April database problem.

That mishap forced the company to refund more than US$15 million in fees to customers, according to an April estimate. Intuit was also forced to ask government agencies, such as the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, to grant an extension for affected customers. The U.S. tax season is generally a peak revenue period for Intuit.