Zennström is leaving the CEO post immediately, he'll become nonexecutive chairman of Skype's board of directors.

Friis, who has been working on new initiatives at Skype part-time for the past year, will no longer have a role in the company.

The executive shuffle doesn't end there: Geoffrey Prentice, who developed Skype's original business plan and found the seed financing that got it off the ground, will leave his post as overseer of strategic partnerships, corporate development, and business operations.

And Skype's president of only 10 months, Henry Gomez, will return to eBay as senior vice-president for corporate affairs.