Items tagged with CEO
If you’re a Comcast customer, we’re sorry. The company has drawn the ire of many Americans over the years for its poor customer service and generally unprofessional employees. In fact, Comcast took top honors as Consumerist’s Worst Company in America for 2014 (let’s give it up for the two-time winner). In the midst of its campaign to secure approval for an acquisition of rival Time Warner Cable, stories have popped up in recent weeks detailing how customer service reps have sunk to new lows to humiliate customers. One customer had the name on her Comcast bill changed to “Asshole Brown” after attempting to downgrade her service. Other customers have found their names changed to “whore”,...
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Surprise! AMD has a new chief and her name is Dr. Lisa Su. She replaces Rory Read, 52, who has stepped down as president and CEO as part of a transition plan that will have him support the new boss in an advisory role. Read will remain with AMD through the end of the year, at which point Dr. Su will be flying solo. Bruce Claflin, chairman of AMD's board of directors, dispelled any notions that there might exist some animosity between AMD and Read, at least publicly. To the contrary, Claflin says that Read and the board have been working on a leadership succession plan together and felt that now was the time for Dr. Su to take over the role as president and CEO. "I am deeply honored to have this...
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Microsoft's newly appointed CEO may have received near-universal praise, but that doesn't mean that things are completely rosy internally. As these events always tend to do, there are at least a few folks who aren't exactly thrilled with the way the decision went down. Due to that, a few key executives are heading for the exits at Microsoft, with Tony Bates and Tami Reller leaving the firm in short order. A similar exit happened at Yahoo once Marissa Mayer was installed as CEO. Word on the street has it that Mr. Bates was a contender for the Microsoft CEO title, and once he was skipped over, he figured it best to just head elsewhere. If you'll recall, Bates joined Microsoft via its acquisition...
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There's evidently only so much a man can take, and honestly, this shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone: with profits falling, the PC industry as a whole crumbling in the wake of tablet and smartphone supremacy, and Windows 8 falling short of most expectations, Microsoft's CEO is throwing in the towel. Steve Ballmer, months after a complete re-org at the company, has just announced that he'll be winding down his role as CEO over the next 12 months, with Microsoft's board of directors now initiating a succession process. Until a successor is named, Ballmer has agreed to remain on as CEO. Essentially, he has agreed to hang around up to 12 months, but if they find a soul willing to take on his...
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Some pretty meaningful changes are afoot at one of the world's most innovative suppliers of flash storage, Fusion-io. Announced this week, the company's president and the co-founder both stepped aside, leaving big holes in a company that's struggling to get solid footing for growth. David Flynn is leaving his post at CES, as is CMO Rick White. Interestingly, both are parting ways to pursue entrepreneurial investing activities, presumably at the same firm. Flynn and White will both remain members of the Board and will serve in advisory roles to the company for the next 12 months. So, what's happening? Well, Shane Robison is stepping up as Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, effective...
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Well, that's one way to grab some attention! As Yahoo looks to reinvent itself under a new CEO, it's trying a few new tricks. And one of those, it seems, it grabbing exclusive rights to provide online access for Saturday Night Live archives. The famed comedy show has been online in various places over the years, but having a complete look at skits from 1975 through today is impressive for sure. It'll include "a library of show clips from the 1975-76 season" right on through today, as well as select SNL musical performances, behind-the-scenes clips, and a selection of dress rehearsal clips. Yahoo! will also feature current season episodes non-exclusively and has distribution rights for library...
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Warren East, the current CEO of ARM Holdings, has announced that he'll step down from the CEO position as of July 1. His replacement, ARM's Simon Segars, is an engineer who worked on some of ARM's earlier processors before stepping up to become company president. East's decision to step down is a bit surprising; the ARM executive told Reuters that "After you've been doing it for 12 years you do get a bit tired... and think "Maybe that's a bit of a brake on the business and somebody else should have a go." East's own "go" was downright impressive. Twelve years ago, the company was one of a number of microcontroller developers. Today, its products power most of the world's smartphones and are poised...
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What's a company to do when it's selling more phones than it ever imagined, and has too many people to congratulate? Give 'em all promotions, it seems. Shortly after unveiling the Galaxy S 4 to the world, Samsung has promoted two other individuals to be CEO. Yes, you read that correctly. As of today, Samsung has three Chief Executive Officers. It's a hugely confusing move, but not entirely unprecedented. For years, RIM (now known as BlackBerry) had two CEOs, and while that worked okay for some time... well, we all know how it ended up. At any rate, President Boo-keun Yoon and President J.K. Shin are now being dubbed co-CEOs. Vice Chairman Oh-Hyun Kwon will retain his position as CEO and Chairman...
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You might recall that Sir Howard Stringer stepped aside as Sony CEO around this time last year, with Kazuo Hirai taking over that office. But in the shuffle, Stringer remaining on as a head honcho at the company -- notable, as Executive Chairman. Stringer has been a fixture of Sony for many years now, and while the company is arguably worse off now than it was when he stepped in, the video game and music industries as a whole have transformed in ways that no one could've seen coming. At any rate, it looks as if Stringer is set to detach himself from Sony entirely in the near future. He started at Sony way back in 1997, practically an era ago in technological measurements, and led as the top man...
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Here's a twist nobody saw coming: Steven Sinofsky, the President of Windows and lead architect on Windows 8 has announced his resignation from the company. That's an abrupt change considering that Sinofsky had been floated as a possible replacement for Ballmer in certain circles and his helming of Windows 8 was seen as a project that could reinvent Microsoft. "I am grateful for the many years of work that Steven has contributed to the company,” Ballmer said. “The products and services we have delivered to the market in the past few months mark the launch of a new era at Microsoft. We’ve built an incredible foundation with new releases of Microsoft Office, Windows 8, Windows...
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OCZ's Board of Directors has appointed Alex Mei to serve as the Interim CEO of the company now that Ryan Petersen has resigned as President, CEO and a director of the Company. Mei will take over immediately and will also maintain his current responsibilities as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. Petersen was one of the organization's original founders and was a key player in guiding OCZ to where it is today. Petersen is also credited as being the inventor or co-inventor of much of OCZ's proprietary technology. Mei joined OCZ in 2004 and is one of OCZ's longest tenured employees. A reason for Petersen's departure has not been announced though there has been some speculation...
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Best Buy's year hasn't been "easy," you might say. The company has experienced a great deal of turmoil, shutting the doors on a number of stores while seeing its CEO head for the exits after a potentially dodgy decision in his personal life. Then, there's the proposed buyout offer from the founder, along with public words of wisdom on how to get everything back on track. Now, however, Best Buy is starting anew, announcing a new CEO to lead the company going forward. The Board of Directors has appointed Hubert Joly to take the top seat, citing his "expertise in turnaround and growth across the media, technology and service sectors." Mr. Joly is expected to step into his role as President and Chief...
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Well, if you were wondering any Marissa Mayer would leave a perfectly comfortable spot at Google to take on a daunting CEO role at Yahoo, wonder no more. Money talks, and it's speaking loud and clear here. A new Wall Street Journal report shows that newly appointed CEO Marissa Mayer will earn around $100 million over the course of the next five years. That's patently insane, but we're guessing Yahoo's board feels that this is a last-ditch effort to revive a struggling Internet company before it withers away so much that it's little more than ripe for acquisition. Mayer will pocket around $5.4 million for the rest of this year, and around $20 million next year. Of course, some of it is tied to...
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Let this be a lesson to all you recent college grads: It doesn’t pay to lie about your degree. Just ask Yahoo! CEO Scott Thompson, who got caught with a bogus computer science degree on his resume. After an embarrassing week of halfway acknowledging the untruth, Kara Swisher of All Things D reports that Thompson is on his way out as CEO. Swisher reports that the official line will be that Thompson is leaving for personal reasons--a recently-discovered illness. (Any wagers on whether that “illness” is a guilt-induced ulcer?) A valuable lesson we can all learn from Thompson’s Worst Week Ever is that if you screw up, how you handle the fallout from it is just as important,...
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In what is being deemed as a "leadership transition," Brian Dunn has stepped down as chief executive officer and director of Best Buy. Director G. Mike Mikan will assume the role as CEO on an interim basis until a permanent replacement is found, Best Buy announced. "There were no disagreements between Mr. Dunn and the company on any matter relating to operations, financial controls, policies, or procedures," Best Buy said. "There was mutual agreement that it was time for new leadership to address the challenges that face the company." Image Source: Flickr (roblawton) News of Dunn's departure can't come as a shocker to anyone who's been paying attention to Best Buy's struggles as of late. The...
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Although it came as no shock, Samsung Electronics announced today that it has officially spun off its display business into a new corporation called Samsung Display Co., Ltd, with operations under the new arrangements beginning tomorrow. At the moment of its birth, Samsung Display became the world’s largest display manufacturer, with 20,000 employees, five factories, and $20 billion (USD) in revenue last year. The lucky CEO of the new corporation is Donggun Park, who put in his time at the company by previously heading up Samsung’s LCD business. The press release announcing the change noted that Samsung Display originated as an R&D department for Samsung back in 1991. My, how...
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HP CEO Meg Whitman is expected to announce a major shift in its business structure today. Henceforth, the Personal Systems Group (PSG), which includes consumer PC sales, and the Image and Printing Group (IPG) will be combined into a single business structure. The move is a curious one, given that it combines what's typically been one of HP's star earners (IPG) with the low-margin / huge volume PC group. As part of the deal, longtime HP executive Vyomesh Joshi is expected to seek more time with his family; the combined unit will be headed by HP vice president Todd Bradley. When HP announced its FY 2011 results last month, Whitman's tough talk telegraphed a move like this. "We've got to streamline...
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When AMD held its Analyst Day a few weeks ago, the company focused on how it was fundamentally changing its approach to semiconductor research and product development. Years of attempting to compete with Intel drained company coffers and exposed it to tremendous competitive pressure. Consumers unquestionably profited -- Intel's prices for various parts dropped dramatically in the early 2000s as AMD entered specific markets -- but Sunnyvale took a ferocious beating in the process. Forbes has published a major article on the company's turbulent last few years and current plans. It credits Dirk Meyer with saving the company after Hector Ruiz's tenure as CEO ended in mid-2009, but quotes no less...
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The hard drive shortage, Oracle's assault on Itanium, and highly competitive scenarios in its ink-and-printer business combined to kneecap HP's earnings this last quarter. The company's net revenue fell seven percent, to $30 billion, while overall margins dropped to just 6.8 percent -- a decline of 3.7 percentage points. The steep decline in revenue was driven by a number of factors. Personal computing sales were down 15% year-on-year, imaging sales fell 7%, and enterprise server product revenue was down 10%. On the upside, HP's services business, software revenue, and finance division all grew profits over the same period -- but not enough to offset these declines. The company's CEO, Meg Whitman,...
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Following the tragic news that Micron's CEO since 1994 perished late last week in a plane crash, the company has now promoted D. Mark Durcan as Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Durcan will also serve as a Director on Micron's Board of Directors. Mark has been the company's CTO in the past, making it a natural step-up. It's surely a bittersweet moment, taking charge of the company that has made his career, but under such awful circumstances. The Board of Directors also announced the appointment of Director Robert E. Switz as Chairman of the Board and Mark W. Adams as President. Mr. Switz has served as a Director since 2006 and is the former Chairman and CEO of ADC Telecommunications. He has previously...
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Micron has grown to become one of the world's leading providers of advanced semiconductor solutions, and a lot of the company's success is due to the leadership of Steve Appleton. On Friday, the company's CEO perished in a plane crash at the age of 51. Mark Durcan, Micron President and Chief Operating Officer, said the following: "Steve was a true friend who will be dearly missed by all of us. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and our team members as we all grieve this tragic loss." Pursuant to the Company's bylaws, Mr. Durcan, in his role as president of the company will assume the responsibilities of CEO until a successor is appointed by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors...
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Maybe brand new Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai is rethinking his decision to take the reins of legendary Japanese electronics maker; a day after announcing its new CEO, Sony delivered its financials for the quarter October-December 2011, and the results were less than stellar. The company lost $2.1 billion in the quarter and predicts losses $2.9 billion for the year through March, according to a Reuters report; there was no Christmas miracle for Sony’s sales. Worse, the loss caps off a fourth straight year of red ink for Sony. Certainly, there are causes that are mostly outside of the company’s control--natural disasters that wrecked supply chains, and economic concerns--but there was also...
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