Rambus terminates chief executive Dr. Ron Black

Intellectual property (IP) licensing company Rambus has fired its chief executive officer Dr. Ron Black, following what the company describes as an unspecified issue with his conduct.

Best known for its aggressive licensing practices which occasionally verge on the monopolistic and having destroyed evidence in a case against memory maker SK Hynix, Rambus made the surprise announcement today that its chief executive officer Dr. Ron Black is out, effective immediately. Details of the reason for his departure were not given, beyond the claim that the company's board of directors 'determined Dr. Black's conduct fell short of the company's standards'. The company has named Luc Seraphin, current senior vice president and general manager of the company's Memory and Interfaces Division, as interim chief executive.

'This decision was not related to the company's operations or finances,' Eric Stang, chair of the board of directors, claimed of Dr. Black's sudden departure, 'and the Board looks forward to working with Luc as we continue to execute the company's current strategy and search for Rambus' next CEO.'

'We are confident in Luc's leadership as we work to accelerate Rambus' growth through the continued execution of key initiatives in strategic technology areas including the Data Centre and Mobile Edge,' added Chuck Kissner, who has been appointed vice chair of the board following Dr. Black's termination from the company.

The announcement comes just over a week after Intel announced the departure of its own chief executive Brian Krzanich over a past violation of the company's non-fraternisation policy. Like Intel, Rambus has confirmed it is actively searching for a replacement chief executive but has not offered a time scale for Dr. Black's permanent replacement.