JANUARY 12, 2009, 10:10 A.M. ET Seagate Chairman Steps In
By KERRY E. GRACE Wall Street Journal http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123177256471573507.html Seagate Technology Inc. tapped Chairman Stephen J. Luczo to resume day-to-day control of the hard-drive maker, which like many firms in the computer industry is dealing with slumping demand. He will succeed William D. Watkins as president and chief executive, and the company said the two will meet in the next week to determine what future role, if any, Mr. Watkins would have with the company. Mr. Luczo, who has been chairman since 2002 and will keep that position, was CEO from 1998 to 2004. During that time he led the company's privatization in 2000 and subsequent return to the public markets in 2002. Mr. Watkins was appointed president of Seagate in 2000, overseeing day-to-day operations at that time. He succeeded Mr. Luczo as CEO in April 2004 as the company separated the roles of chairman and chief executive. Over the past year, Seagate's competitive position in notebook drives has suffered in part due to execution issues with its 250-gigabyte and 320-gigabyte products. The company has also been hurt as demand for for desktop and notebook computer hard drives has been sapped by the slowdown in the retail market as consumers cut back their discretionary spending, especially on big-ticket items. Seagate's net income sank 83% in its fiscal first quarter on charges as well as lower sales and margins. The firm slashed revenue expectations for its latest quarter last month. Earlier this month an analyst at American Technology Research raised his investment rating on the company, saying hard-disk-drive prices should stabilize in 2009, especially as companies adjust their production levels to manage inventory and take cost-cutting actions. ================================================= George Antunes Voice (713) 743-3923 Associate Professor Fax (713) 743-3927 Political Science Internet: antunes at uh dot edu University of Houston Houston, TX 77204-3011 *********************************** * POST TO [email protected] * *********************************** Medianews mailing list [email protected] http://lists.etskywarn.net/mailman/listinfo/medianews
