Skype appoints new CEO: "I want to learn." Well, duh

Former Evite co-founder (well, I guess he will always be a co-founder), and eBay marketing exec and current Shopping.com CEO

As Jim Courtney of Skype Journal notes, Josh is already blogging.

In terms of revelatory, Josh's first post is hardly that. But he officially steps on board March 24 as Skype CEO so his words and thoughts count:’m well aware that it is more than just an ingenious feat of engineering, which has made Skype one of the most rapidly-adopted technologies in human history. It’s a passionate community of users who believe in the power of human connection, in bold innovation and in striving for product excellence which has put us on our path to changing the world. I share your passion, and take very seriously the responsibility of all of us at Skype to be good stewards of the product and the brand.

So what can you expect from me? That I’m serious about wanting to build the greatest products — and the greatest company — on Earth. That doing so means listening well, being willing to think different and take risks. And in everything we do, one thing is certain: we’ll always have the best interests of the Skype community at heart.

I’m the new guy, and have a lot to learn. To really understand Skype’s cultural and technological DNA, my number one priority is to do a lot of listening and learning. With my wife and kids about to begin their adventure in Estonia as well, I have all the support I could ever need. I want to know everything about the technology, the team and the community. And I hope to share some of my observations on this very blog and see what you think, too.

As chief executive, I’m stepping into a flight deck first captained by co-founder Niklas Zennström and latterly interim CEO Michael van Swaaij. Both of whom have done great, meaningful things with this company. I don’t yet have the right to expect your enthusiastic two thumbs up. But as we go further on this journey together, I plan to earn it.

In the meantime, I look forward to meeting and talking with as many of you as possible over the months and years to come.

OK, well, duh.

So we learn that Josh is serious about this gig, wants to learn as much as he can and listen to users. But will he insititute non-obtuse communication channels to help him listen to we Skype users?

And will Skype-owner eBay listen to Josh?