Linden Lab, the parent company of Second Life, has appointed a big name CEO: Mark Kingdon, till now the CEO of Omnicom digital agency Organic, is stepping down to come on as the CEO of Linden. Kingdon will succeed founder Philip Rosedale, the founder who gave up his CEO role earlier this year; he remains chairman.

Kingdon will have his hands full: the once-hyped and then less-hyped virtual world company needs adult supervision and needs bigger audience and more diversification, both in terms of product lines and in terms of the kinds of sponsors it has attracted till now.

Rosedale on the company blog: “He is going to start on May 15th. Like I said when we started looking, I am not going anywhere, and will be working with Mark to help lead Linden and Second Life onward...He will have an intense focus on improving the in-world experience and stability and reliability of Second Life.”

Meanwhile, Organic is looking for a replacement. Kingdon had worked as CEO of Organic since 2001.

• Industry Moves: Second Life CEO Philip Rosedale Stepping Down