Adobe CTO Lynch Resigns, Heading For Position At Apple

Lynch's move may come as a surprise to some given the history of animosity between the two companies, especially the dispute over Apple's refusal to support Adobe Flash on Apple iPhones and iPads.

In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday Adobe said that on Monday Lynch resigned from his position as executive vice president, chief technology officer, effective March 22 "to pursue other opportunities."

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Adobe issued a statement confirming that Lynch is leaving to take a position with Apple. The statement also said Lynch's CTO post won't be filled and that development responsibilities now lie with business unit heads under the direction of CEO Shantanu Narayen.

Apple did not return a request for comment about the job Lynch will take on at the company. Several published reports said he will serve as vice president of technology, reporting to Bob Mansfield, senior vice president of technologies.

Apple and Adobe engaged in a very public spat in 2010 when Apple CEO Steve Jobs issued a public memo criticizing Adobe's Flash software, calling it "proprietary" and questioning its reliability, security and performance. Apple effectively blocked the use of Flash on its iOS devices,

Lynch was the Adobe executive who responded to Jobs, defending Flash in a blog post and criticizing Apple for "the legal terms Apple has imposed on developers." He announced a shift away from developing software for Apple devices to devices based on Google's Android mobile operating system.

In November 2011 Adobe said it was halting development of its Flash Player software for mobile browsers.

Lynch has been with Adobe since December 2005 when Adobe acquired Macromedia, where Lynch was chief software architect. He became Adobe's CTO in February 2008, according to his LinkedIn page. He joined Macromedia in 1996 and before that he worked at General Magic and Frame Technology.

Adobe has been shifting its product development efforts in recent years, focusing on content authoring and digital marketing software.

In its first fiscal quarter ended March 1 the company reported sales of just over $1 billion, down slightly from the same period one year earlier.

PUBLISHED MARCH 20, 2013