Christos Cotsakos

For Christos Cotsakos, the revolution ended abruptly Friday. The controversial head of online trading firm E-Trade Group Inc., a key player in the late- 1990s Internet stock-trading frenzy whose ads once proclaimed, "Welcome to the next revolution," unexpectedly resigned as chairman and chief executive of the company. Cotsakos' departure came two days after Menlo Park, Calif.

Christos Cotsakos, the former E-Trade Group Inc. chief executive who last year became a lightning rod for criticism over executive pay, saw his compensation drop sharply for 2002 -- though he received $12.2 million overall. His financial package, which included such perks as payment for a home security system, tax-planning services and a company car, was detailed in the Menlo Park-based online brokerage's proxy statement released Tuesday.