Shares in technology firm SmartForce closed 19.1 per cent weaker at $42.88 on the Nasdaq last night as the stock lost $10.12 after the announcement that its founding chairman Mr Bill McCabe will stand down in a board restructuring.

Mr McCabe sold around $40 million worth of SmartForce shares before its share collapsed in 1997 when the company was known as CBT. He returned to the company in 1998 as a confidence-building measure, purchasing stock and leading its move into e-learning.

While Mr McCabe now holds 4.6 million shares and options valued at $253 million, he has no plans to sell any of this stock, a company spokesman has said.

Mr McCabe is expected to stand down in three to six months after a number of non-executive directors - with expertise in technology and the Internet - are appointed to SmartForce's board.

Following this, the company's president and CEO, Mr Greg Priest, will assume the joint position of chairman and CEO.