Kevin Bachus leaves Infinium

Infinium Labs, the US company behind the controversial Phantom broadband console, has announced that European boss Greg Koler has taken over the roles of CEO and CFO from Kevin Bachus, who has left the company.

Bachus, who departed last week, joined Infinium in December 2003 as president and COO, and became CEO back in August, replacing company founder Tim Roberts, who remained on the board of directors.

His appointment at the firm, as a former member of the Microsoft team which created the Xbox, brought it much-needed industry cachet at a time when many suspected that the Phantom was merely an ironically named investment scam. However, even since then, Infinium has failed to bring a product to market.

That responsibility will now fall to Greg Koler, who has been working full-time as a consultant for the firm handling communications, channel and investment strategies in Europe for over a year, and now becomes interim CEO, CFO, president and director of the company.

Koler has wide ranging experience in the videogames and media sectors, and his impressive CV includes being a founding director of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, overseeing the entry of TDK Mediactive into the videogames market, and working as a consultant for Japanese broadband games service provider Softbank Broadband.

"From the perspective of the US and international markets, Mr Koler's extensive corporate experience and practical knowledge of the games industry will be fundamental to our ability to successfully address the challenges we face at this pivotal juncture in our company's evolution," commented Infinium Labs director Richard Angelotti.

"Greg is known and respected by his management peers for his insightful industry views and his clear, concise and candid industry operational commentary," he continued.

Originally slated for release in time for Christmas 2004, the Phantom Game Service is now not expected to appear until mid-2006.