Infospace Replaces CEO

Naveen Jain, a former Microsoft executive who founded InfoSpace in 1996, will continue to act as a director, the company said Saturday. In August, Jain agreed to step aside once his replacement was found.

Jain said he opposed the board's hiring of Voelker, who also will serve as InfoSpace's president, because he felt there were more qualified candidates.

Bellevue, Wash.-based InfoSpace provides software for e-commerce and other consumer services -- such as maps, phone directories and e-mail -- for many of the Web's most popular sites. The company also provides software for wireless services.

After going public at the end of 1998, InfoSpace followed the trajectory of many dot-coms, with its stock price reaching a high of more than $130 per share by March 2000.

But InfoSpace's business ventures faltered, as did investors' enthusiasm. On Friday, InfoSpace sold for less than $10 per share. Shares would have been worth less than $1, except for a 10-for-1 reverse stock split earlier this year.

Jain has sold 7.3 million shares of InfoSpace since the company went public, for $398.2 million, according to Securities and Exchange Commission documents.

Voelker is a former president of the now-bankrupt XO Communications, a telecommunications company previously known as Nextlink Communications.