Skype senior staff David Gurlé, Christopher Dean, Russ Shaw, Don Albert, Doug Bewsher, and Anne Gillespie are leaving Skype or have left.
Strategy VP Dean led Skype’s consumer market business development for the last five months, headed up Skype’s global business and corporate development since November 2008 and was Josh Silverman’s Chief Strategy Officer for the year before that.
Gurlé was Skype’s VP and General Manager for Skype for Business for 18 months, bringing similar experience from his time at Thompson Reuters and Microsoft. Gurlé posted to his LinkedIn page about his being founder and CEO of Code name ‘Pilatus’: “More details to follow after I take two months off to get some rest after hectic but fun life at Skype.” David is on Cannes time.
Skype has not announced about replacements. Stay tuned.
UPDATE 5: 1435 Pacific. Skype: “Doug Bewsher, David Gurle and Russ Shaw have left and Neil Stevens has assumed the new role of head of Products and Marketing.” Stevens prior job was Vice President and General Manager for Consumer.
UPDATE 4: Friday, 17 June. 1151 Pacific. Unconfirmed: Doug Bewsher, Chief Marketing and Officer, and Anne Gillespie, HR head, also went this week.
UPDATE 3: Wednesday, 15 June 2011. 1053 Pacific. Russ Shaw, VP and GM for Skype’s relationship with mobile operators is out the door too. Shaw was instrumental in landing and keeping Skype’s partnerships with O2, Verizon, TELUS and Nokia. Skype for smartphones became a staple under Shaw.
UPDATE 2: 1035 Pacific. 
VP and GM for Americas and Advertising Don Albert is gone too. Albert is the longest serving member of the executive team by a long shot, going back to early 2006 shortly after eBay purchased Skype. Probably more than anyone else, Don was the driving force behind making Skype a household name in the US and Canada. From LinkedIn:
Built and managed a great team that was responsible for building Skype’s business in the America’s region, and for launching multiple new advertising revenue streams globally. Launched Skype’s first subscription calling plan, which was hugely successful and became the model for future offerings. Created a Skype section in all of Wal-Mart’s US stores, with huge branded signage explaining Skype to the Wal-Mart shopper base. USA Today called it the "mainstreaming of Skype" on the cover of its Business section. Signed global bundling deals with 3 major PC OEM’s. Oversaw Skype’s first social network deal, with MySpace. Formed a partnership with The Oprah Winfrey Show which gave Skype a huge brand boost and accelerated user growth. The culmination of the relationship was a one-hour show entitled "Where the Skype Are You?"Launched a formal "Skype for Broadcast and Film" initiative, which has led to many placements on network news shows, as well as "Who Wants to be a Millionaire," The Miss Universe Pageant, "Californication," and the theatrical release "Going the Distance" among many others. Negotiated deals to monetize Skype’s massive download flow. Launched click-to-call advertising. Launched display advertising with top brands participating from launch.
UPDATE 1: 0956 Pacific. Skype PR: “Skype, like any other pragmatic organization, constantly assesses its team structure to deliver its users the best products. As part of a recent internal shift Skype has made some management changes.”
Tips? Questions? Skype me for a quick chat, call or SMS my iPhone +1-510-316-9773, or book me. I respect embargoes and other confidences.
