Michael Parham, senior vice president and general counsel at Seattle-based computer vision company RealNetworks, is leaving the company at the end of June.
RealNetworks announced the move on Wednesday. The company also announced Chris Wheaton is taking over the chief operating officer and chief financial officer roles.
Parham has been with RealNetworks for more than 20 years, including the past 10 years as general counsel.
"After leading the process of taking the company private and charting a path for future success, I believe that now is the right time for me to explore a new challenge,” Parham said in a news release. “I am excited to continue my long partnership with the Company by serving on the board of the RealNetworks Foundation following my departure.”
RealNetworks went private in December through an acquisition by founder and CEO Rob Glaser and his affiliate firm, Greater Heights LLC. Parham led the company through the transition, RealNetworks said. He is also a leader of the Black Boardroom Initiative, a program meant to diversify corporate boards.
RealNetworks said CFO and COO Chris Wheaton joined the company in March and has been learning about the company over the past few months. According to his LinkedIn page, he most recently spent more than three years at the Seattle-based device management company Bsquare in the same roles he's serving at RealNetworks. He is also on the board at Pemco Insurance.
“I’m excited for Chris to join Real’s leadership team,” Glaser said in the release. “As we fully implement a leaner, faster-moving, and more decentralized operating plan, Chris is the perfect person to partner with me and the rest of Real’s senior leadership team."
RealNetworks was founded in 1994. The company offers facial recognition technology, text message management and casual games, and owns the once-ubiquitous digital media player RealPlayer. Last November, in its final public earnings report before going private, RealNetworks said it generated $11.7 million in revenue in the third quarter.
RealNetworks has links to another recent Seattle corporate move. Rhapsody, owned by RealNetworks, acquired the iconic file-sharing service Napster in 2011 and rebranded as Napster 2016. RealNetworks sold Napster in 2020 for $70.6 million. Napster was since acquired by Hivemind and Algorand, according to Forbes, and is moving its headquarters from Seattle to Nashville.
