Garry Betty, chief executive officer of the Atlanta, Ga.-based ISP, will take up McQuary's day-to-day duties. McQuary will continue to work on special projects for the company and Betty.

"In his tenure as president, Mike has been greatly responsible for many of the accomplishments that EarthLink has achieved," Betty said. "He has played an invaluable role in transforming EarthLink into a leading national ISP with a reputation for award-winning service and customer support. His commitment to the company has been an inspiration to all of us over the years."

McQuary had been president of EarthLink since its merger with MindSpring in February 2000. McQuary joined MindSpring in 1995 as executive vice president of sales and marketing. A few months later, he was named president and chief operating officer of the ISP.

McQuary got his start in business selling paper cups for Lily-Tulip Inc., and went on to serve in a variety of sales, marketing and operations management positions with Mobil Chemical Co., a division of Mobil Corp.

He serves on the boards of Artisan Network, Showbuys.com and the University of Virginia Alumni Association.