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Security software firm Symantec announced that John W. Thompson, the company's chairman and chief executive officer, will retire as CEO at end of the fiscal year. He plans to remain chairman of the board.
By Mel Duvall
Security software firm Symantec announced that John W. Thompson, the company's chairman and chief executive officer, will retire as CEO at end of the fiscal year. He plans to remain chairman of the board.
Enrique Salem, Symantec's current chief operating officer, will take over as president and CEO effective April 4, 2009.
Thompson has steered the helm of the Cupertino, Calif., company for the last decade and has a long, distinguished career in IT. Prior to joining Symantec he held a number of senior executive positions with IBM, including general manager of IBM Americas. In 2002 President Bush tapped Thompson to serve on the national Infrastructure Advisory Committee (NIAC) to advise Washington on security matters related to national infrastructure.
"Over the past 10 years, John has led the effort to diversify Symantec's customer base and has grown the company's revenue tenfold," board member and independent director Robert Miller said following the retirement announcement. "The board appreciates all he has done for Symantec and his leadership in driving the succession planning process."
His successor, Salem, 43, has worked closely with Thompson over the past few years to set the company's strategic direction. In January of this year, he was appointed chief operating officer, responsible for day-to-day operations, global product development, sales and marketing. Previously he held a number of senior management roles at Symantec, including senior vice president of the security products and solutions group, president of the consumer business unit, and group president worldwide sales and marketing.
Prior to rejoining Symantec in 2004, Salem was CEO of Brightmail, an anti-spam software company that was acquired by Symantec.
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