Thursday, June 09, 2005, 11:50 am

Quark CEO suddenly departs, replacement search underway

By Kasper Jade

Quark chief executive Kamar Aulakh, who was credited with transforming the privately-held firm's strategic direction, has abruptly left the company.

In a prepared statement to the press, the Denver, Col.-based company "announced that effective immediately, Kamar Aulakh is no longer with the company."

Quark said it has initiated an external search for a new CEO and has enlisted the resources of executive search firm Christian & Timbers to do so.

In the interim, Linda Chase, senior vice president of commerce product development, has been appointed by the Board of Directors as acting president of the company.

Chase brings to the table over 20 years experience in the publishing industry and has lead the QuarkCommerce business unit since 1998.

News of the departure first surfaced on the Macworld UK website.

Reasons behind Aulakh's departure have not been disclosed.