Seattle-based MOD Systems, a maker of music and video downloading technology for retail stores, placed its chief executive, Mark Phillips, and chief operating officer, Kenneth Gordon, on administrative leave Friday. I heard a rumor about this move over the weekend, and TechFlash confirmed the news yesterday, adding some important details. A phone message left with a MOD Systems spokesperson has not been returned.
The move comes on the heels of a lawsuit filed by MOD investor Robert Arnold in February against Phillips, Gordon, and MOD vice chairman Anthony Bay, alleging blatant misuse of funds, embezzlement, and misrepresentation. Bay is now the acting CEO of MOD Systems, according to TechFlash. Phillips and Gordon remain employed by the company, which isn’t giving any reasons for the latest move.
MOD Systems was co-founded by Phillips and Bay in 2005. Last September, the firm scored a $35 million equity investment from Toshiba, NCR, and others. The money was supposed to be used to develop MOD’s media software for use with touch-screen kiosks and secure digital memory cards. In the meantime, the company has been demonstrating its product at IT shows, and Bay is still scheduled to speak on May 7 at the Digital Hollywood conference in Santa Monica, CA.
Author: Gregory T. Huang
Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003.
Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
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