St. Paul-based IB isn't a consumer brand audiences really know — they basically help local TV stations nationwide with online news, ad and web-tool products. Still, they are a decent-sized local employer (300 or so) and a place where a lot of media folks (off the top of my head: City Pages' Hart Van Denburg, MPR's Dave Peters and Bob Ingrassia — heck, even Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak once upon a time) cycle through.

So in that insider vein comes news that David Lebow, IB's president and CEO since mid-2007, resigned Wednesday. Lebow was the former general manager of America Online networks, where he oversaw the development of MapQuest and CityGuide. During his tenure, AOLers arrived, NBC owned-and-operated stations bolted, and three media-industry equity partners stayed.

Do I know a lot more than that? Word is IB's new ventures, Slantly (a commenting platform) and NowLocal (an aggregation engine) didn't exactly pick up the web-publishing slack. If fewer companies outsource their publishing platforms, the next boss is going to have to innovate a lot more successfully, and fast.

Further insights welcome, in the comments or via email (see address at right). But at least you can read the memo hot off the virtual presses!

Date: May 12, 2010
To: All Employees
From: David Lebow
Re: Leadership change
 
I’m writing to let you know that I have elected to take this time to resign from my position as President and CEO of Internet Broadcasting. I have enjoyed the challenges of rebuilding IB and being part of this resilient company.
 
Having emerged from the recession, having now renewed our partners and starting to turn the corner financially, IB is in a good position to determine how to best move forward. IB has many opportunities ahead with broadcasters and advertisers again looking to invest and grow. Having completed this chapter at IB, it is now the right time for me to step back and consider other personal and career objectives that I have set.  
 
IB is fortunate to have a great history and great ownership who care about the future and success of the company. Our board and management are all talented and deeply committed individuals. This will serve the company well. Even as a 14-year-old company, it’s still early in the evolution of Internet Broadcasting.
 
I thank you for the privilege of leading IB and look forward to watching the company do big things in the future.
 
I will be in the office through this week. Board members Steve Goldstein and Jim Simons, colleagues I respect tremendously, will be holding an All Company meeting on Friday to fill you in on what to expect going forward. 
 
The company is in excellent hands.
 
Best,
David