Outgoing Palm senior vice president of software and services Michael Abbott has joined Twitter – and not just with a new account on the social networking platform. Abbott has come on board the microblogging service as vice president of engineering.
The addition means that Greg Pass, Twitter’s current VP of engineering, is being shuffled around to make room for the acquisition of Abbott.
According to TechCrunch, Pass has accepted a promotion to chief technology officer, the first time this position has been occupied by anyone at Twitter.
Prior to Twitter – and even Palm – Abbott enjoyed great success working as general manager of Microsoft’s .NET Online Services unit.
While at Palm, Abbott also proved a vital team leader, particularly in the development of the webOS smartphone platform. His last day at Palm will be April 23rd.
As a result of Abbott’s departure, executives at the struggling Palm have initiated an elaborate retention program to help prevent other high-level staffers from defecting to employment elsewhere. Palm is apparently offering substantial “equity awards” and even some hefty cash prizes to individuals who stay on board at Palm for at least two years.
Despite hopes of a comeback and restoration of its previous glory in the mobile technology space, Palm has failed to adequately compete in an increasingly competitive mobile space. Consequently, Palm is now believed to be working with the likes of Goldman Sachs to find a buyer for the company.
