"We wish Kevin well in this new chapter of his career," said Adobe - somewhat sparingly - in a statement released as the company behind PDF and Acrobat confirmed that just four days after offering his resignation as CTO on March 18, Kevin Lynch will be leaving the company he joined in 2005.

From March 22 Adobe executive Bryan Lamkin will assume Lynch's responsibilities for cross-company research and technology initiatives.

Lynch, who in 2006 gave an exclusive interview on SYS-CON.TV, in which he outlined his "Beyond the Browser" vision for Rich Internet Applications, joined Adobe as part of the company’s 2005 acquisition of Macromedia. As Adobe’s senior vice president and chief software architect, he led the Platform Business Unit, focused on advancing the company's software platform for the creation and delivery of engaging applications and content to any desktop or device. He also oversaw Adobe’s developer relations, including the integration of customers and partners in the development process through Adobe Labs and customer advisory councils.

His  passion for Rich Internet Applications won him promotion to CTO of Adobe in February of 2008, from SVP & Chief Software Architect.

Kevin Lynch, then CTO of Adobe, keynoted at 6th AJAXWorld in 2008 in San Jose, CA

At that time, Lynch's preoccupation was with the move from native, OS-specific applications to web applications, which he flagged as one of the biggest "disruptions" in the software industry in an interview with the Wharton Business School given at the time of his promotion. "[Adobe is] a leader in enabling that transition to happen with things like AIR," Lynch noted, adding: "We're focused on taking advantage of that shift, not only with our enabling technologies, but also our applications like Premiere Express, Photoshop Express and BuzzWord."

Subsequent to this Lynch's energies shifted towards spearheading Adobe's push into web publishing through "Creative Cloud" – using skills and energy that will now, as VP of Technology at Apple, most likely be directed at promulgating and implementing Apple's iCloud.

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