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31 October 2003 Industry veteran Nick Earle has quit his position as CEO of document output management company StreamServe after reaching "a mutual decision" with the company's board of directors.

StreamServe claims to be one of Europe's largest privately held software companies with 2002 revenue in excess of $40 million. It has more than 3,000 customers globally and its investors include venture capital company Apax Partners.

"We are very fond of Nick and feel he made a contribution to StreamServe," the company's chairman, Erik Tiller, told Infoconomy. "However, as a company we are looking to enter new markets and, in particular, build our presence in the United States. We feel the company needs new leadership to achieve these goals," he said.

Earle previously served as worldwide president of Hewlett-Packard's Internet business. When asked if this did not qualify him to lead StreamServe's US expansion, Tiller responded: "Yes and no. Nick's US experience was more global than regional."

Earle also spent a short time as vice president of Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at e-procurement software supplier Ariba before joining StreamServe in July 2001. He was appointed by StreamServe's investors to execute a turnaround at the struggling company and reposition it as a specialist in "enterprise business communications".

Earle is the latest in a number of executive departures from StreamServe during 2003 that also include Giovanni Bindoni, the company's chief operating officer, Sheila Gibson, chief marketing officer and Hal Bennett, president of StreamServe Americas. According to Tiller, these executives all left for reasons "directly correlated with their performances".

Streamserve's board of directors has reappointed Earle's predecessor, Hans Otterling, as CEO.