TECHNOLOGY : Intuit CEO Resigns, Citing Growth of the Company

Intuit Inc., the world’s largest maker of personal finance software, said Thursday that Chief Executive Bill Harris resigned after he and the board decided the company needed a more seasoned manager to lead it as revenue approaches $1 billion.

Chairman Bill Campbell, 58, will assume day-to-day operations of the company until a successor, who will come from outside, is found. Harris, 43, will remain on the board and aid in the transition, the Mountain View, Calif.-based company said.

Twenty percent of Intuit’s revenue during the last six months came from the Internet, where the company is seeking to become a one-stop shopping source for online financial services. Buoyed by strong sales of its Quicken, TurboTax and other software, Intuit’s sales surged 43% and profit doubled in its most recent fiscal year.

“This is a good time for the company to search for someone who has deep experience running large companies,” Harris said, adding that the move was his idea. “All of us have agreed this is the right thing for me and the right thing for the company.”

Campbell was unavailable to comment.

Harris said he plans to spend more time with his two small children and family before plunging back into the role of entrepreneur. He already has some ideas, he added, but he declined to comment on them.

He joined Intuit in 1993 as executive vice president for the company’s tax business when it acquired ChipSoft Inc., then a large maker of tax-preparation software. In 1996, he was also put in charge of the firm’s Internet strategy and business development. A year later, he headed up Intuit’s consumer business.

Since Harris became chief executive in 1998, Intuit shares have doubled. On Thursday they closed down $2.69 at $100.56 on Nasdaq.

“My role now is much more divorced from the day-to-day happenings and I’d like to be much more hands-on,” Harris said.

A spokeswoman said the company had not yet retained an executive search firm.