Head Of "One Laptop Per Child" Wants New Chief Executive

Dover (DE) - Nicholas Negroponte, the man who has always been in charge of the ambitious "one laptop per child" program, is now looking for a new person to take control as CEO of the initiative.

Negroponte is not leaving the project; he will remain as a chairman. In an interview with Business Week he said managing the entire operation is "more like Microsoft."

The OLPC project aims to get laptop computers in the hands of children across third-world countries. Negroponte originally aimed for a $100 price tag but eventually had to settle for $188. In the last few months, the first major orders came in, with hundreds of thousands of computers sent to Peru and Uruguay.

However, Negroponte has come under criticism for failing to effectively manage the project and also for security flaws in the computer. That ultimately led to a split between OLPC and key partner Intel.

Negroponte admitted, "I am not a CEO. Management, administration, and details are my weaknesses. I'm much better at the vision, big-picture side of the house."

The project is seen as an important social and political movement, but the handling of it has come under scrutiny. Negroponte hopes that by bringing in someone who can better oversee everything, his "big picture" can be fully realized.