John Riccitiello, CEO of Unity, the company whose 3D game engine had recently seen backlash from developers over proposed fee structures, will retire as CEO, president, and board chairman at the company, according to a press release issued late on a Monday afternoon, one many observe as a holiday.
I suspect openly being fired would make harder for his mates in the boards of other companies to convince the remaining board members to hire him.
It's not about competence, it's about not having quietly stepped out when asked to (only CEOs that don't quietly step out are fired, the rest "retire") - you could say that the deadly sin by a CEO for a Board is not incompetence, it's making a fuss when asked to leave.