PalmSource today announced a "leadership transition" as David Nagel stepped down as President and CEO.

Nagel officially quit the PDA software maker on Sunday and was replaced on an interim basis by Patrick McVeigh, a SVP at the company. The PalmSource board has kicked off a search for a new CEO.

"I want to thank Dave for playing an instrumental role in helping position PalmSource to be a major player in the worldwide mobile software market," said Jean-Louis Gassee, chairman at PalmSource. "We appreciate that Dave is staying on to ensure a smooth transition and wish him the best in his future ventures."

PalmSource provided no official reason for Nagel's departure. But the praise from Gassee along with a consultancy contract for Nagel that runs through mid-July would seem to indicate there was no bad blood surrounding the move.

Nagel, a former Palm executive, was tapped as PalmSource's first CEO when it was spun off from Palm in 2001. The company has struggled to adjust to its software-only role and has been trying to increase its play in the phone software market. ®

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