TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Electric scooter maker Gogoro Inc. announced Friday (Sept. 13) that its founder Horace Luke (陸學森) has resigned as chair and CEO of the company.

A board meeting approved his immediate departure and his successors, per CNA. The head of legal affairs at Gogoro shareholder Ruentex Group, Tamon Tseng (曾達夢), is taking over as Gogoro chair. Meanwhile, the general manager of Gogoro Taiwan, Henry Chiang (姜家煒), has been appointed acting CEO of the whole company.

In an official statement, Chiang praised Luke’s creativity and foresight in establishing a new transportation ecosystem for smart cities. Luke also wrote a letter to staff saying how difficult his decision had been, per the Liberty Times.

While no reason for the founder’s departure was mentioned, the media report noted that Gogoro had lost over NT$10 billion (US$312 million) over the past five years.

Hong Kong-born Luke, 54, worked at Microsoft in the United States and at HTC before founding Gogoro in 2011. The company soon established an image as a pioneer in battery-swapping technology and electric scooters, with Chiang calling it one of Taiwan’s most representative brands.