Human Head president and cofounder Paul MacArthur today confirmed a Firing Squad report that CEO Tim Gerritsen has left the developer.

　　MacArthur said that the company has begun interviewing candidates for Gerritsen's position and that he is assuming the role of interim CEO until the hiring process is complete. Gerritsen has long been a visible member of the Human Head team, having worked on (and spoken for) the company's highest profile projects. Gerritsen served as project manager for the PC third-person action game Rune and was producer for last year's PC and Xbox 360 first-person shooter Prey.

　　MacArthur could not comment on Gerritsen's future plans but did say his parting from the company was "definitely amicable."

　　[UPDATE] Gerritsen offered the following explanation for his departure from the company: "I just decided it was time. It was completely amicable, but after nine years, I decided I needed a new challenge. I had six other partners, and though I love and respect the rest of the guys there, I just got tired of the issues that come up when you have that many owners, and they weren't willing to go in the same direction as I was."

　　While Gerritsen didn't specify what he'll do now, he did say he was "on to something new," and that it would be in the game industry, but he isn't ready to announce it yet.