Lytro, a camera technology company that lets you shoot first and focus later, announced that its founder, Ren Ng, is leaving as CEO and will become the company’s Executive Chairman effective immediately. The current Executive Chairman, Charles Chi, will become the interim CEO while the company conducts an external search for a permanent replacement.

According to Ren Ng’s blog post, he will be involved with the company 100% of the time but will focus on product development.

I will remain a full-time employee, 100% focused on Lytro. In my new role I will shift attention from day-to-day operations, to focus again on product vision, technology, and strategic direction for the company. I am very excited to have the opportunity to focus on these areas where I am most passionate.

Last year, Lytro announced a $50 million round of financing. Ng and his team are creating the first-ever light field camera that makes focusing a picture irrelevant during the taking picture phase. Instead, you point, shoot, upload, and click on the section of the picture you want to bring into focus.

Ren has a Ph.D. His seminal Ph.D. research on light field technology earned the field’s top honor, the ACM Doctoral Dissertation Award for best thesis in computer science and engineering, as well as Stanford University’s Arthur Samuel Award for Best Ph.D. Dissertation. When Ren purchased his first DSLR camera, he saw the potential to apply light field technology to capture pictures in addition to image generation. Ren decided to apply this knowledge by making light field cameras that everyone can use.

Ren holds a Ph.D. in computer science and a B.S. in mathematical and computational science from Stanford University.  Outside of his work, one of his hobbies is rock climbing.