Mozilla announced it has appointed Chris Beard (pictured) as CEO after the executive had earlier returned to the company to serve as interim boss.

In a company blog post, Mozilla chair Mitchell Baker wrote that the board considered a number of internal and external candidates but “no one we met was a better fit”.

Beard first joined Mozilla in 2004, and was initially responsible for leading the product, marketing and innovation teams. He later became chief marketing officer, leading user, developer and community engagement activities globally, including the initial launches of Firefox on Android and Firefox OS.

He spent almost a year as ‘executive in residence’ at venture capital firm Greylock partners before returning to Mozilla in April as the company searched for a permanent chief following the scandal around Brendan Eich’s resignation.

He also became a member of Mozilla’s board when he returned earlier this year, with Baker stating at the time he was “a strong candidate” for the permanent CEO position.

With Beard’s experience across Mozilla’s business, Baker wrote: “There’s simply no better person to lead Mozilla as we extend our impact from Firefox on the desktop to the worlds of mobile devices and services.”

Reid Hoffman, executive chairman of LinkedIn and Mozilla board member, said Beard “brings the leadership that inspires and unites community, products, and technology for a free and open web. He is the right CEO for Mozilla, as the organisation, community, and movement for open technologies”.

During Beard’s time as interim CEO, the company launched its mobile-focused Firefox OS with new operators, including America Movil. New smartphones using the technology were also announced by ZTE and Alcatel ONETOUCH, along with Mozilla’s reference device, Flame.

Mozilla also announced that the Firefox ecosystem will expand to new markets with new partners before the end of the year.