MySQL Cofounder May Resign

MySQL cofounder Michael “Monty” Widenius is contemplating resigning from his position at Sun Microsystems, which bought the open-source database company earlier this year, according to a blog post Friday by Kaj Arnö, vice president of community relations for MySQL.

“First, it’s a rumour. Technically there is no resignation letter. However, I spoke to Monty yesterday, and yes, resignation is an option he considers,” Arnö wrote, referencing a report on the gossip site Valleywag stating Widenius had already submitted his resignation.

“Second, Monty’s resignation has been a possible outcome already since years before the Sun acquisition,” Arnö added. “Perhaps his resignation at some point is inevitable, given that the type of skills and qualities needed to make MySQL great are different from those needed for working productively in a larger organisation (and I am referring to the size of the MySQL team, not Sun).”

“Monty indeed has been thinking for the past several years about retiring into a smaller company of his own where he could focus on special needs and engineering work related to the MySQL server, which is his passion,” Arnö said.

A Sun spokesman issued a statement confirming Widenius is still a Sun employee, but it did not address the prospect of his resignation. “As any public company, we issue announcements concerning executive and officer appointments when necessary and appropriate,” it said.