Adobe’s chief technology officer Kevin Lynch unexpectedly left the company to join Apple as vice president of technology, a hiring decision that pundits are already questioning. Most obviously, Apple engaged in a major public spat with Adobe over its Flash software, which was amongst Lynch’s products. An essay from Steve Jobs from April 2010 detailing the ways “Flash falls short” can still be found on Apple’s website, while a YouTube parody from 2009 shows Lynch and another Adobe staffer destroying iPhones in a number of ways, including running an iPhone over with a steamroller.
While many have questioned Apple’s reasoning for bringing Lynch in, Daring Fireball’s John Gruber has been particularly pointed in his criticism, suggesting that Lynch may be “a bozo” and a bad hire, based largely on Lynch’s continued support for Flash well after the point at which it was publicly considered an albatross. It’s been noted that Apple CEO Tim Cook has now made several such questionable executive hires at Apple, including Mark Papermaster, John Browett, and Lynch, while other executives such as iOS senior VP Scott Forstall and retail VP Jerry McDougal have departed the company. It is unclear at this point what projects Lynch will be involved with at Apple, but he will report to Apple’s Bob Mansfield in his new role. [via AllThingsD]