Akamai Technologies president David Kenny has quit, even as the company reported a 6.5% gain in net profit.
Though the company’s profit fell 12% in the third quarter, it and the company’s fourth-quarter forecast of revenue around $315 million, still beat expectations. Shares rose 15% as well. But Kenny, 49, said that he is quitting the company. He said, "I now want to return to my first passion of pursuing emerging opportunities on the consumer Internet."
Kenny’s decision has triggered rumours in the tech world that he may be aiming for the top job in Yahoo, where he is already a director.
Standard & Poor’s analyst Scott Kessler told Boston Herald that Kenny is "familiar with the company from the inside as a board member."
"It would be much like Meg Whitman joining the HP board in January and suddenly she’s the CEO."
Kenny joined Yahoo’s board in February this year.
Yahoo has not hired its chief after Carol Bartz was fired last month. Since then there have been speculations over its future. The company has hired Goldman Sachs and Allen & Co. for strategic advice but has not disclosed its plans.
At present, Yahoo’s chief financial officer Tim Morse is running the company on an interim basis.
