New Promethean CEO Eyes Move To Open Source

In recent years, schools have shifted away from a front-of-the-classroom approach to one that puts tablets and laptops in each student's hands. Those devices have carved into other education technology businesses, namely interactive whiteboards, which offered educators a way to enhance the front-of-the-classroom experience.

What does an education technology company do when it realizes that its technology is no longer the focal point of the classroom? That's the question facing Jim Marshall, the newly appointed global chief executive officer of Promethean World, the interactive whiteboard company based in Alpharetta, Ga. Facing massive revenue losses since he arrived 18 months ago as head of the company's North American business, Marshall's succession to the recently resigned CEO Jean-Yves Charlier was being planned behind the scenes, he said in a recent interview at an education industry conference. SMART Technologies, the global leader in interactive whiteboard sales, also experienced losses recently, and its CEO resigned earlier this year.