Brendan Eich was appointed CEO of Mozilla in early 2014 but faced backlash over his 2008 political donation supporting California's Proposition 8 banning same-sex marriage. As criticism grew from Mozilla employees and online petitions, Eich resigned just two weeks later. Mozilla struggled to contain the crisis and redirect attention to its upcoming Firefox 29 release. While new interim CEO Chris Beard was appointed and the browser launched as planned, the controversy distracted from Mozilla's messaging during this period. The organization aims to avoid similar leadership crises going forward through improved background checks, monitoring internal dissent, and having a crisis response plan.

1. Digital Crisis Communication Kristin M. Oberlander
CASE STUDY
May 7,
2014 Brendan Eich + Firefox 29.0 Launch
In early 2014, Mozilla Firefox readied the release of its new
browser update and appointed company cofounder Brendan
Eich to serve as its CEO. However, Eich’s past political
contributions caused a crisis in the Firefox community that soon
received mainstream media attention. Here is how they
resolved the issue.

2. Digital Crisis Communication Kristin M. Oberlander
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Case Study
B R E N D A N E I C H + F I R E F O X 2 9 . 0 L A U N C H
BACKGROUND
In 1998, Brendan Eich and Mitchell Baker co-founded the Mozilla Project. Brendan and Mitchell went on to
found the non-profit Mozilla Foundation in 2003. The Los Angeles Times reported on Eich’s 2008 political
contribution to California Proposition 8. From 1998-2014, Eich served as CTO and SVP Engineering of Mozilla,
among other roles.
Mozilla has offices in the United States, Canada, China, Germany, New Zealand, England, and France.
EICH INITIAL DONATION RESPONSE IN 2012
Mitchell Baker addressed the issue with employees in Google Groups. Brendan Eich responded on his personal
blog. The former met with discussions about the larger Mozilla mission and Baker engaged with respondents at
times. Eich’s response almost a month later was emotional and set the stage for the 2014 uprising.
Statement on Mozilla Governance (March 8, 2012)
Excerpt:
If we start to try to make "Mozilla" mean "those people who share not only the
Mozilla mission but also my general political / social / religious / environmental
view" we will fail. If we focus Mozilla on our shared consensus regarding
the Mozilla mission and manifesto then the opportunities before us
are enormous.
Mozilla's diversity is a success condition. Our mission and our goal is truly
global. Our mission taps into a shared desire for respect and control and user
sovereignty that runs across cultures and across many other worldviews. We
may even offend each other in some of our other views. Despite this, we share a
commitment to the Mozilla mission. This is a remarkable achievement and
important to our continued success.
- Mitchell Baker

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Personal Blog, BrendanEich.com (April 5, 2012)
Excerpt:
2014 EVENT TIMELINE
March 23 | Brendan Eich CEO appointment announced on Mozilla’s Lizard Wrangler
blog
March 25 | Mozilla Statement on Diversity company blog post
March 26 | CREDO, a petition site for social change, announces that Brendan Eich’s
appointment is a target
March 26 | Brendan Eich issues apology on his blog, BrendanEich.com
March 26 | Mitchell Baker, Chair of the Mozilla Foundation, posts a statement,
Building a Global, Diverse, Inclusive Mozilla Project: Addressing Controversy (Lizard
Wrangler blog)
March 27/28 | News outlets report internal struggle as 10 or fewer Mozilla
employees and board members call for Eich’s resignation (WSJ)
March 29 | Mozilla Supports LGBT Equality company blog post
March 30 | CREDO petition launched, reaching 65,000 signatures
March 31 | OKCupid announced it will block Firefox users
April 3 | Brendan Eich resigns, Mozilla Press Center and Mozilla Blog

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April 5 | Mozilla releases FAQ on CEO Resignation on company blog
April 14 | Mozilla announces Chris Beard as interim CEO on company blog
April 29 | Mozilla publically unveils Firefox 29.0
KEY CRISIS PERSONNEL
The following individuals should be on the crisis team for this issue on the basis of their place in the
organization. Roles are assigned as such in blue.
M I T C H E L L B A K E R
E X E C U T I V E C H A I R W O M A N , M O Z I L L A F O U N D A T I O N
ROLE: COMPANY SPOKESPERSON ON ORGANIZATIONAL GOALS
MITCHELL HAS BEEN THE GENERAL MANAGER OF THE MOZILLA PROJECT SINCE 1999. SHE SERVED AS CEO OF MOZILLA
UNTIL JANUARY 2008, WHEN THE ORGANIZATION’S RAPID GROWTH ENCOURAGED HER TO SPLIT HER RESPONSIBILITIES AND
ADD A CEO.
B R E N D A N E I C H
C H I E F E X E C U T I V E O F F I C E R
ROLE: SPOKESPERSON TO ADDRESS POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS
CHRIS BEARD IS THE INTERIM CEO OF MOZILLA CORPORATION AND A MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS. HE IS A
PASSIONATE ADVOCATE FOR OPEN SOURCE, AND HAS BEEN LEADING OPEN SOURCE PROJECTS IN ENGINEERING, PRODUCT
AND MARKETING ROLES FOR THE PAST 17 YEARS.

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D E B B I E C O H E N
V P , C H I E F O F P E O P L E
ROLE: HUMAN RESOURCES
DEBBIE COHEN CHAMPIONS COLLEAGUES TO BE THEIR BEST SELF AND ENABLES THEM TO CHANGE THE WORLD OF WORK AT A
VALUES-BASED ORGANIZATION WITH STRONG BELIEF IN HUMAN POTENTIAL.
D E N E L L E D I X O N - T H A Y E R
V P , B U S I N E S S A N D L E G A L A F F A I R S
ROLE: ATTORNEY
AS VICE PRESIDENT OF BUSINESS AND LEGAL AFFAIRS, DENELLE DIXON-THAYER LEADS MOZILLA’S LEGAL TEAM AND
MANAGES STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS AND PUBLIC POLICY INITIATIVES. DENELLE JOINED MOZILLA IN 2012 AS ASSOCIATE
GENERAL COUNSEL AFTER WORKING AS AN OUTSIDE ADVISOR TO THE PROJECT FOR SEVERAL YEARS.
P E T E S C A N L O N
A C T I N G C H I E F M A R K E T I N G O F F I C E R
ROLE: MARKETING VOICE FOR NEW FIREFOX RELEASE

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SINCE THE DAYS OF DIAL-UP, PETE HAS BEEN PART OF CREATIVE AND TECHNOLOGY TEAMS THAT BUILD OUTSTANDING
EXPERIENCES AND ESTABLISH STRONG RELATIONSHIPS WITH AUDIENCES. HE CURRENTLY LEADS ALL ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS
FOR MOZILLA AS ITS ACTING CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER.
J O H N A T H A N N I G H T I N G A L E
V I C E P R E S I D E N T , F I R E F O X
ROLE: VOICE OF THE BROWSERR
JOHNATHAN NIGHTINGALE IS MOZILLA’S VICE PRESIDENT OF FIREFOX AND HELPS AN INCREDIBLE COMMUNITY OF PEOPLE
BUILD THE BEST WEB BROWSER ON THE PLANET.
U N I T E D S T A T E S P R E S S & S O C I A L M E D I A T E A M : P R E S S @ M O Z I L L A . C O M
T O B E D E T E R M I N E D
ROLE: ASSIST COMPANY SPOKESPERSONS AND DIRECT STRATEGY
SOCIAL MEDIA RESPONSE TO EICH’S APPOINTMENT
Key Detractors
Chris McAvoy – Chicago – Mozilla Foundation
Chloe Varelidi – Mozilla employee
John Beven – London – Mozilla employee
Sydney Moyer – New York – Mozilla employee
[Tweets appear on the following page]

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Twitter: Mozilla
Directed followers back to company blogs and website.
Twitter: Firefox
Directed followers back to company statements on blog and website.
[Screenshots on the next page]

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Facebook: Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla posts an image to promote Firefox on March 25th and links back to the Firefox download page.
Moderators direct critical comments on LGBT rights back to statements on Mitchell Baker’s blog,
LizardWrangler.com, and Brendan Eich’s blog, BrendanEich.com.
[Screen shot on the next page]

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[Graphic, including negative comments and responses by Mozilla on the next page}

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Firefox posts the announcement of Eich’s departure on April 3rd. Mozilla engages with critics and the post
receives 243 shares, 789 likes and over 6,500 comments.
[Screenshot on the next page]

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Posts by Others feature is not activated on the Mozilla Firefox Facebook page.
SEARCH ENGINE DATA
Google Trends noted an increase in search from March-May 2014, but Brendan Eich barely registers (blue line,
next page). Most of the news headlines surround Firefox (red line) and not Mozilla (yellow line). Even so,

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Firefox coverage remained steady throughout the controversy until the new product release on April 30th, at
which point it spiked. For comparison, a green line denotes NCAA March Madness coverage, which occurred
during the same time period.
Search for Brendan Eich was based entirely in the United States, but for Firefox attention remains outside the
United States.
Interesting. Firefox in Spanish search jumps eight-fold.

14. Digital Crisis Communication Kristin M. Oberlander
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Across the major platforms, Google search shows remnants of the struggle eight days after the launch of the
new browser, with CEO as a top term.
On Bing, CEO only appears when searching the company name (at the bottom of the list), but not with the
Firefox product.

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No mention on Yahoo! at all.
PIVOTING
After CEO Brendan Eich resigns on April 3rd, Mozilla appoints temporary leadership nine days later.
C H R I S B E A R D
I N T E R I M C E O

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CHRIS BEARD IS THE INTERIM CEO OF MOZILLA CORPORATION AND A MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS. HE IS A
PASSIONATE ADVOCATE FOR OPEN SOURCE, AND HAS BEEN LEADING OPEN SOURCE PROJECTS IN ENGINEERING, PRODUCT
AND MARKETING ROLES FOR THE PAST 17 YEARS.
And two weeks later, the new browser launches.
DEBRIEF
Prop 8 was a divisive issue in 2008 that marginally passed in California. Campaign contributions are publicly
reported, but it would be interesting to dig further into who reported Eich’s donation at the Los Angeles Times
and even more, who tipped off the paper about it. Perhaps they are one in the same, but maybe not.
Mozilla appeared to have expected some push back on Brendan Eich’s appointment, immediately releasing
statements on the company’s position on LGBT rights and diversity shortly after the announcement. However, it
seems that they did not expect the avalanche of criticism.
Mozilla stayed the course and continued to direct individuals back to company messaging by leadership.
Ultimately, the internal strife distracted from the release of Firefox 29.0 and only intensified when the
mainstream media and tech blogs caught wind. Employees and consumers often focus on dissenting opinions and
attack leaders who express those opinions, even privately. When in crisis, companies tend to experience
personnel turnover in high-stakes high-profile positions, including and especially company leadership.
Public perception of the company plays a huge part in the success of new products. With that reality, a
cofounder exited Mozilla either at his own behest or that of current leadership. What cannot be estimated,
however, is that the browser market is crowded with multiple versions of Internet Explorer, Chrome and Firefox,
among others. No doubt the company is aware of this reality when it makes staffing decisions, or they will in the
future after a misstep.
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
How to avoid this situation again:
n Thorough leadership background checks, as the public takes great interest in
reading about leaked company or personal information
n Watch and respond early to internal detractors, particularly when these individuals
take their complaints public
n Keep calm and follow the crisis plan, if there is one. If not, create a wireframe at
the very least