Gardner steps down as Atari CEO

Atari has confirmed that high-profile CEO David Gardner has left the post, with his boots being filled by former COO Jeff Lapin.

Gardner remains at the publisher as a member of its board of directors. Lapin becomes Atari’s fourth CEO in just three years.

For the last two years, first as a director of the board and then as COO, I have contributed to the transformation of Atari,” Lapin stated.

It has been a challenging time, which resulted in a new publishing strategy with a strong online focus and a shift of the operations to the US. We will launch our second MMO – Star Trek Online – in February 2010.

I am excited to take on these new responsibilities at this important time and look forward to developing Atari’s strategy to bring the company back to profitability.”

The games world was rocked in early 2008 when the appointments of both David Gardner and former PlayStation guru Phil Harrison were announced.

However, neither has remained in their respective posts long-term, with Harrison leaving in May 2009 – the same time that now-boss Jeff Lapin joined the company.