Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Executive Chairman Jon Rubinstein, a former Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) executive who has been leading the company’s turnaround, will become Palm’s CEO, succeeding Ed Colligan, who is stepping down after 16 years at the company, according to AP. Release.

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Rubinstein’s resume includes a stint at Apple, where Steve Jobs asked him to lead the hardware engineering division when Apple was suffering from financial losses and the Mac’s appeal was waning back in 1997. Rubinstein spent the next nine with engineers developing the iMac and the iPod. In a release, Rubinstein said: “With Palm webOS we have ten-plus years of innovation ahead of us, and the Palm Pre is already one of the year’s hottest new products. Due in no small part to Ed’s courageous leadership, we’re in great shape to get Palm back to continuous growth, and we plan to keep the trajectory going upward.”

The executive change comes just a week after top industry reviewers gave high marks for the Palm Pre, which is considered a contender against Apple’s iPhone. Sales were brisk starting Saturday when the device went on sale, but were hampered by phone shortages. Rubinstein joined Palm in October 2007, and will officially take over on June 12, Palm said on Wednesday, Reuters reports. Meanwhile, Colligan will continue to play an active role in the company—as an investor. Palm said he will take some time off and then join Menlo Park, Calif.-based private equity firm Elevation Partners, which has almost been single-handily propping the company up while it transitions to its new webOS operating system. Palm also said today it will announce its Q4 and fiscal year 2009 financial results June 25.