Lotus Founder Kapor Resigns as Chairman

Mitchell Kapor, who founded Lotus Development Corp. and built it into the world’s largest independent maker of personal computer software, resigned as chairman Thursday, the company said.

Kapor will remain as a director and consultant during the next year, the Cambridge, Mass.-based company said.

Jim P. Manzi, the company’s president and chief executive, will succeed Kapor as chairman while keeping his existing titles.

Kapor released a statement saying: “This is a natural step in my personal growth and in the evolution of the company. . . . It’s a good time for me to go on to explore other endeavors.”

He added: “I have no plans to do anything which conflicts or competes with Lotus’ best interest or with my responsibilities to the company.”

Kapor founded Lotus in April, 1982, and served as president until 1984, when he was named chairman and Manzi became president and chief operating officer.

Manzi has gradually assumed responsibility for all company operations and was named chief executive in April.

Lotus’ first and biggest success was its 1-2-3 program, an electronic spreadsheet for displaying and manipulating financial information. There are 1.5 million copies in use, making it the best-selling business software ever.

“Mitchell’s contributions go far beyond setting the foundation for a remarkable company success story,” Manzi said in a statement. “He contributed a product which has fundamentally changed the way many people do business and created a platform for a series of products and services that will continue to improve business productivity.”