PowerMoves, a business leadership information report, is a valuable source for staying informed about changes at partner, competitor and customer organizations. Its focus is on publicly traded technology companies headquartered in the Silicon Valley. The report is published by TowerHunter executive search, specializing in VP, C-Level and Advisory/Boards for technology companies. For comments contact Simon Bloch, Partner at (650) 937-9150 or [email protected].
Executive Appointments
Executive Leaves
Board Appointments and Leaves
Executive Compensation Changes
Executives and Interims on Lookout
Executive Employment Market Data
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Executive Appointments
Aehr Test Systems Appoints Larry Anderson as Vice President of Worldwide Sales
Aehr Test Systems announced that Larry Anderson has been appointed Vice President of Worldwide Sales. Mr. Anderson will direct Aehr Test’s worldwide sales organizations. Mr. Anderson has over 25 years of sales and sales management experience with technology companies including 10 years with FormFactor, a leader in the semiconductor test probe card market, where he headed the sales and service efforts in North America and Europe. Prior to joining Aehr Test, Mr. Anderson also held various sales leadership positions with the memory and logic test businesses of Advantest/Verigy, a leader in the semiconductor test business as well as Cymer, the leading laser light source company whose products are used for pattering advanced semiconductors.
Align Technology Appoints Tim Mack as SVP Marketing and Business Development
Align Technology announced that Tim Mack was appointed as senior vice president, marketing and business development, effective immediately. Mr. Mack was previously president and CEO of Cadent Holdings, Inc., and has served as senior vice president, business development since Align’s April 2011 acquisition of Cadent. Consumer marketing will continue to report directly to Thomas M. Prescott, Align president and CEO. Mr. Mack joined Cadent in 2005 as executive vice president and led the introduction and adoption of Cadent’s new 3D digital imaging technology into the market. From 2009 until the company’s strategic acquisition in December 2011 he served as president and CEO. Prior to Cadent, Mr. Mack was vice president of DENTSPLY Ceramco, a wholly-owned subsidiary of DENTSPLY International. He has also held a series of management positions in the U.S. and Europe within consumer electronics and medical imaging divisions at Eastman Kodak Company.
AMD Appoints Colette LaForce as SVP and Chief Marketing Officer
http://finance.yahoo.com/photos/amd-appoints-colette-laforce-senior-photo-120000646.htmlAMD announced today that Colette LaForce, 39, will join the company as senior vice president and chief marketing officer, reporting to President and Chief Executive Officer Rory Read. In her new role, LaForce will lead global integrated marketing for AMD, including marketing strategy, branding, internal and external communications, corporate events, sponsorships and entertainment marketing. LaForce will join AMD from Dell, where she is global vice president and chief marketing officer of the approximately $8 billion Dell Services business unit. As chief marketing officer for Dell Services, LaForce leads integrated marketing, demand generation, events, internal and external communications, sales enablement and alliance partnerships. While at Dell, LaForce has also held senior leadership positions within the corporate marketing, global communications, product marketing and business unit marketing groups. She also led Dell’s corporate thought leadership and executive communications programs. Before joining Dell, LaForce spent nearly a decade in marketing and communications leadership roles for a variety of technology and venture capital companies, including Rackable Systems (now SGI) and Accenture. She will join AMD on May 14, 2012 and will be based in Austin, Texas.
CafePress Promotes Joe Schmidt to CMO
CafePress appointed Joe Schmidt to the position of Chief Marketing Officer. Mr. Schmidt previously served as the Company’s Senior Vice President. Schmidt joined CafePress in September 2010 with the acquisition of Canvas On Demand. Prior to CafePress Schmidt co-founded and served as President of Canvas On Demand. Prior to that, Schmidt served as the Director of Sales and Marketing at Art.com Inc.
eBay Appoints Brian Doerger as VP and Chief Accounting Officer
eBay appointed Brian Doerger as its Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer. Phillip DePaul, who was most recently serving in this position, has assumed new responsibilities within the company. Prior to joining eBay, Mr. Doerger, age 39, served as Executive Vice President, Corporate Finance and Controller of NBCUniversal Media, LLC, a joint venture between General Electric Company and Comcast Corporation. From 2005 to 2011, he served as Executive Vice President, Corporate Finance and Controller of NBC Universal, Inc. until its acquisition by Comcast. Prior to serving in those positions, Mr. Doerger held other management and accounting roles at GE from 2002 to 2005. Mr. Doerger worked at KPMG LLP from 1994 to 2000. Mr. Doerger is licensed as a certified public accountant. Mr. Doerger’s offer letter provides that he will receive an annual salary of $350,000. Mr. Doerger will also be eligible to receive a one-time payment of $500,000 to assist with his purchase of a home in the San Jose, California area and relocation assistance associated with his move from Ridgefield, Connecticut to the San Jose area.
EFI’s Guy Gecht Assumes Responsibilities of President
As previously reported, Fred Rosenzweig retired from the position of President of Electronics For Imaging effective as of December 31, 2011. The Board of Directors of the company appointed Guy Gecht, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, as its President, effective immediately. Mr. Gecht will not be receiving any additional compensation as a result of this appointment.
Extreme Networks Appoints John Kurtzwell as SVP and CFO
Extreme Networks announced that Mr. John Kurtzweil will join the Company as Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, effective as June 29, 2012. Kurtzweil will replace interim CFO Jim Judson. Mr. Kurtzweil has over 25 years of corporate finance and accounting experience and joins from Cree, where he served as Executive Vice President, Finance and as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer since 2006. Prior to Cree, Mr. Kurtzweil was Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Cirrus Logic, Inc. from 2004-2006.. Mr. Kurtzweil, who is a certified public accountant and certified management accountant. Under the Offer Letter, Mr. Kurtzweil will be entitled to an annualized base salary of $385,000. In addition, commencing in fiscal 2012, Mr. Kurtzweil will be eligible to participate in the company’s executive incentive plan with an initial target of 50% of Mr. Kurtzweil’s annualized base salary as then in effect.
HP Promotes Bill Veghte to COO and George Kadifa to EVP Software
Hewlett-Packard has named Bill Veghte, 44, who recently led the company’s software business, to fill the newly created position of chief operating officer. He will continue to oversee the HP strategy. George Kadifa, 53, recently an executive at technology investment firm Silver Lake, will take over Mr. Veghte’s role at as Executive VP of Software and will report directly to CEO Meg Whitman.
HP Appoints Jan Zadak President, EMEA Enterprise Services
HP announced that Jan Zadak will assume the role of president, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), HP Enterprise Services. Zadak, a 20-year veteran of the IT industry, will report to John Visentin, executive vice president and general manager, HP Enterprise Services. In this newly created position, Zadak will combine the power of HP’s portfolio and people to solve enterprises’ biggest IT challenges. He also will lead HP’s participation in strategic client deals. Previously, Zadak was executive vice president, Global Sales, HP, where his team leveraged the full HP portfolio to deliver integrated solutions for customers and partners. Prior to this role, Zadak was senior vice president and managing director, EMEA, HP Enterprise Business. He joined Compaq Computer Corporation in 1997, and held several senior management roles in EMEA’s fast-growth markets, including Central and Eastern Europe.
Micrel Promotes Robert Wahl to Managing Director, WW Supply Chain Management And Backend Operations
Micrel announced that Robert Wahl has been promoted to Managing Director of Worldwide Supply Chain Management and Backend Operations. Previously the Director of Micrel’s Global Supply Chain, Mr. Wahl has been responsible for Micrel’s worldwide supply chain, including all inventory levels/turns, sales operations support, and accountable for the company’s purchasing process. Reporting to Micrel’s Vice President of Worldwide Operations, with this promotion, Mr. Wahl will continue his current role, while taking on the additional responsibility for backend operations, which include worldwide assembly, test and supplier management. Mr. Wahl has more than 28 years of experience in supply chain and operations. Prior to coming to Micrel in 2010, he worked at Cortina Systems as its Senior Director of Operations. Before that, he worked at several semiconductor companies including, Cypress Semiconductor and Xilink, EXAR and NeoMagic where he held senior director positions in sales operations, supply chain management and operations.
Netflix Names Cindy Holland to VP Original Content and Jason Ropell to VP Content Acquisition
Netflix announced that Cindy Holland will assume a new role as Vice President of Original Content to oversee television content licensing for the U.S and Jason Ropell as Vice President of Content Acquisition. Holland, a 10 year Netflix veteran, will be responsible for acquiring and launching original series for the over 25 million Netflix global members, while Ropell, who joined Netflix last year, will assume Holland’s former responsibilities for managing TV licensing relationships in the company’s largest market. Previously, Holland oversaw domestic TV licensing for Netflix after starting her career at the company in DVD acquisition. Before Netflix, she held various business and creative development roles at e-commerce startup Kozmo.com and for film production companies including Mutual Film Company and Baltimore/Spring Creek. Before joining Netflix in March 2011, Ropell was Vice President, Business Development at NBCUniversal Inc., Executive Director, Business and Legal Affairs, for Comcast Entertainment Group, and legal counsel for Corus Entertainment. Both Holland and Ropell will continue to report to Sarandos. Peter Friedlander, hired last fall to shepherd original series, will continue to report to Holland.
QuinStreet’s Kenneth Hahn Assumes Responsibilities of COO
Kenneth Hahn, QuinStreet Chief Financial Officer, assumed the additional role of Chief Operating Officer. Bronwyn Syiek, who had served President and Chief Operating Officer since February 2007, will continue to serve as President and will continue to serve on the Board of Directors.
QuinStreet Hires Greg O’Brien as SVP Business Development
QuinStreet announced that Greg O’Brien has joined the company as senior vice president of business development. Greg brings extensive industry experience and contacts to QuinStreet. He most recently served as chief executive officer of The CollegeBound Network, a provider of online marketing services to the Education industry. Greg also worked previously as chief financial officer of CollegeBound and as an investment banker to media and technology clients. At QuinStreet, O’Brien will act as a senior leader in client development and on building performance marketing partnerships with large media organizations.
Responsys Hires Michael Della Penna as SVP of Emerging Channels
Responsys announced the appointment of Michael Della Penna in the newly created role of Senior Vice President of Emerging Channels. These addition to the executive team will add leadership and deep expertise in emerging channels to support the company’s rapid growth. Della Penna will report to Dan Springer, Chairman and CEO of Responsys. Della Penna brings 25 years of marketing experience to Responsys. Before joining the company, Della Penna founded SuiteDialog, which specialized in building social CRM solutions and digital marketing programs that drove interactive conversations, engagement and life-time value. Della Penna also founded Conversa Marketing, another social CRM venture that was acquired by StrongMail Systems in 2010. Before founding his own companies, Della Penna served as Chief Marketing Officer at Epsilon, playing an integral role in the company’s strategic marketing, branding, market positioning, lead generation, and communications efforts. Della Penna’s other key marketing and leadership roles included: Chief Marketing Officer of Bigfoot Interactive, Vice President of Strategic Development at CNET Networks, and Vice President of Marketing at ZDNet.
Responsys Hires Joan Burke as VP of HR
Responsys announced the appointment of Joan Burke as Vice President of Human Resources reporting to Dan Springer, Chairman and CEO of Responsys. Burke brings to Responsys over 25 years of experience in a full range of human resources management roles. She has held senior positions at leading technology companies and has experience building and managing human resources functions in mid-sized and large organizations. Most recently at ZipRealty, Burke held a leadership role as Vice President of Human Resources and was responsible for maximizing efficiency across the company, including recruiting and retaining high performing talent. Prior to that, Burke held the position of Vice President of Global Human Resources at ShoreTel, where she guided the company culture when ShoreTel transitioned from a private to a public organization. Burke has also held senior human resources roles at ZANTAZ, The Industry Standard, John Hancock, ABHOW and SoftNet Systems.
Reverbed Appoints Tim Goodwin as Managing Director for Japan
Reverbed Technology announced that the company appointed Tim Goodwin as the Managing Director for Riverbed® Japan. Goodwin brings more than 20 years of operational, channel and sales experience in the technology industry, most notably at F5 Networks where he established and grew the company’s market profile in country. In his new role at Riverbed, Goodwin will be responsible for expanding the Riverbed presence and business within the country. Goodwin has a proven history of overachieving financial goals, and has successfully expanded the global reach of organizations by building a team of industry leading players, collaborating extensively with headquarters to set and implement local strategy, and developing successful channel and sales strategies. He most recently managed company operations in Japan for Isilon Systems Japan K.K. and Q1 Labs Inc. Prior to this, Goodwin led local operations for F5 Networks Ltd as Vice President and Country Manager for Japan.
Rovi Appoints Peter Halt as CFO
Rovi appoints Mr. Peter Halt to succeed James Budge as CFO. Mr. Halt has served as the company’s Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer since May 2008 when the acquisition of Gemstar-TV Guide International by the Company was completed. Mr. Halt previously served as Senior Vice President, Finance and Chief Accounting Officer at Gemstar from March 2004 to May 2008. Prior to joining Gemstar, Mr. Halt served in various capacities at Sony Pictures Entertainment, including serving as Chief Financial Officer of Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment from November 2000 to November 2003 and Corporate Controller of Sony Pictures Entertainment from July 1997 to November 2000. Under the terms of Mr. Halt’s employment, Mr. Halt is entitled to an initial annual base salary of $375,000, and is eligible to participate in the Senior Executive Company Incentive Plan with a cash bonus target equal to 60% of his base salary.
ShoreTel Appoints Joe Vitalone, Tim Gaines and Mark Arman to Sales Leadership Positions
ShoreTel announced new sales leadership. Joe Vitalone returns to ShoreTel to lead channel management, Tim Gaines takes the helm atop North America sales and Mark Arman leads international sales and worldwide distribution.
Joe Vitalone, Vice President, Channel Management. An industry veteran with over 25 years of sales and business development experience in technology and telecommunications, Vitalone will be responsible for strengthening channel revenues and advocating for the channel. Vitalone rejoins ShoreTel from LifeSize where he served as vice president of sales for the Americas. During his tenure there, LifeSize sales doubled. Prior to joining LifeSize, Vitalone was a company officer and vice president for North America sales for ShoreTel where he tripled revenues in four years and managed the sales team through ShoreTel’s transition to a publicly held company. Vitalone began his sales career at Mitel, and then entered the video conferencing market in its early days as the sales leader for PictureTel, followed by ViaVideo Communications (since acquired by Polycom). Vitalone was vice president of sales and business development for Polycom in 2000. Vitalone also served as senior vice president of worldwide sales at CoVi Technologies and has held management positions at Siemens, AT&T Wireless, and Wire One Technologies.
Timothy C. Gaines, Vice President of North America Sales. Gaines joined ShoreTel in 2007 and now oversees North American sales for all on-premise solutions including unified communications, contact center and mobility. With more than 20 years of sales and general management experience in the telecommunications industry, Timothy Gaines is a pioneer in the VoIP space and a proven leader in building high-powered sales teams. Prior to ShoreTel, Gaines served as Senior Vice President of Sales at Covad (now MegaPath), a leading provider of broadband and VoIP solutions for commercial and government business segments. Previously Gaines served as regional director and general manager for a U.S. subsidiary of Fujitsu, where he developed and drove growth of the PBX switching systems business in the U.S. In addition, Gaines held vice president posts with StarVox and PictureTel Corporation, where he was a primary architect of the high-growth distribution strategy that led PictureTel to be recognized by Fortune magazine as one of the 100 fastest growing companies in the U.S.
Mark Arman, Vice President of International Sales and Worldwide Distribution. Arman joined ShoreTel in November 2006 and now leads ShoreTel’s international sales and worldwide distribution teams. From 2006 to 2012, Arman led ShoreTel’s business development efforts, including strategic planning, merger and acquisition, and global channel processes. Before joining ShoreTel, Arman was founding CEO of WindSpring. There he provided executive leadership and oversight of engineering, product management, product development, sales and marketing activities, and orchestrated the completion of venture finance requirements. Prior to WindSpring, Arman was the CEO of Conferserv, where he successfully closed multiple rounds of financing, repositioned the company as a leader in the emerging market for IP enterprise video conferencing and collaboration, and eventually directed the company’s merger with 4/21 Interactive. Arman previously spent five years as a Manager with LEK Consulting, where he led a number of large and business-critical merger and acquisition, privatization, strategic planning and business turnaround projects.
Spansion Appoints Glenda Dorchak as EVP and GM of Global Business
Spansion appointed Glenda Dorchak as executive vice president and general manager of Global Business. Dorchak will play a key leadership role in maximizing growth opportunities in embedded markets and oversee global sales and marketing. Dorchak is an industry leader in corporate strategy, executive management and marketing for embedded markets. Most recently, she held CEO positions at VirtualLogix and Intrinsyc Software. She spent five years at Intel in vice president and general management positions of the Communications Group, Broadband Products and the Consumer Electronics Group. Dorchak also held various sales, marketing, product management and finance roles at IBM, and is currently a board member of Mellanox Technologies.
Splunk Appoints James Murray as Vice President and General Manager of EMEA
Splunk announced that it has appointed James Murray as vice president and general manager of EMEA. Murray will draw on his 20 years of experience in the software industry to help lead Splunk’s business across the region. Prior to Splunk, Murray spent 11 years with content-management software company Interwoven, which was acquired by Autonomy. Autonomy was acquired by HP in 2011. During his time there, Murray held a number of roles, including: UK sales director, vice president sales EMEA, vice president APAC and most recently senior vice president of Autonomy’s digital marketing business and CEO for Virage Worldwide, a division of Autonomy HP.
Symmetricom Appoints James Armstrong as CTO
Symmetricom announced the appointment of Dr. James Armstrong to the new role of chief technology officer. As CTO, Dr. Armstrong will design and lead the company’s technology strategies, spearhead innovative product development and execution, and ensure the continued growth of technology and infrastructure. The new CTO role at Symmetricom is central to the development and evolution of technology within the company, and will mainly involve decision making for researching, developing and applying new and emerging technologies. Armstrong joined Symmetricom in 2006 as vice president of engineering and has been leading the communications business segment as the executive vice president and general manager for the last four years. Prior to joining Symmetricom, Armstrong was president of Movidis, Inc.
Synopsys Appoints Aart de Geus and Chi-Foon Chan as Co-CEOs
Synopsys appointed Dr. Chi-Foon Chan, its President and Chief Operating Officer, as Co-Chief Executive Officer of Synopsys. Dr. Chan will continue to serve as a member of the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors also appointed Dr. Aart de Geus, Synopsys’ current Chief Executive Officer, as its Co-Chief Executive Officer. Dr. de Geus will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors. No changes to Dr. Chan’s compensation have been made at this time. Dr. Chan has served as Chief Operating Officer since April 1997 and as President and a member of the Board of Directors since February 1998. Dr. Chan joined Synopsys in May 1990 and has held various senior management positions, including Executive Vice President, Office of the President from September 1996 to February 1998 and Senior Vice President, Design Tools Group from February 1994 to April 1997. Dr. Chan has also held senior management and engineering positions at NEC Electronics and Intel Corporation.
Telenav Appoints Michael Strambi as CFO
TeleNav announced that Michael Strambi, its vice president of finance, will assume the role of the chief financial officer. Mr. Strambi, age 50, has served as the company’s vice president of finance since November 2009. From December 2008 to August 2009, Mr. Strambi served as vice president and chief accounting officer of Silver Spring Networks, Inc., a provider of smart grid services. From February 2008 to December 2008, Mr. Strambi served as chief financial officer of Metacafe, Inc., a provider of online video services. From February 2006 to February 2008, Mr. Strambi served as vice president of finance of MobiTV, Inc., a provider of mobile media solutions. From 2002 to 2006, Mr. Strambi served in various positions, the most recent of which was vice president, controller and treasurer, with Macromedia, Inc., a provider of web publishing products and solutions that was acquired by Adobe Systems Incorporated. Mr. Strambi will be entitled to receive a base annual salary of $250,000 and an annual incentive opportunity target up to 50% of Mr. Strambi’s base salary.
ZipRealty Appoints Franklin Davis as President
ZipRealty appointed Franklin V. (Van) Davis to the new position of President, Brokerage Operations, effective May 7, 2012. Mr. Davis, age 53, has more than two decades of management and leadership experience in the real estate brokerage industry. Mr. Davis most recently served as owner and operator of F.V.O. Davis Consulting, a franchising and real estate consulting service, from September 2007 to April 2012. Mr. Davis’s previous real estate brokerage experience includes serving as President and Chief Executive Officer of Foxtons North America and as President and Chief Executive Officer of Century 21 Real Estate Corporation. Mr. Davis has also served as an advisory board member for BOGOPOD.com, a provider of online marketing services to merchants, and Trulia, Inc., an operator of a website for residential real estate consumers and agents, during their start-up phases. Mr. Davis will receive an annual base salary of $250,000 and, for fiscal year 2012, will be eligible to earn a bonus amount equal to 50% of his annual base salary if the Company achieves Target District Income.
Yahoo Names Ross Levinsohn as interim CEO
Yahoo! Inc. announced that is has named Ross Levinsohn as interim Chief Executive Officer. As interim CEO, Mr. Levinsohn will manage the Company’s day-to-day operations with assistance from Yahoo!’s existing senior leadership team.
Executive Leaves
Align Technology’s Len Hedge SVP Business Operations to Retire
Align Technology announced that Len Hedge, senior vice president, business operations will retire in February 2013 which will cap a very successful 14 year career at Align. Mr. Hedge joined the company in 1999 and has been instrumental in its growth and success by helping to create Align’s world-class manufacturing technology and processes for the Invisalign system. He built a preeminent worldwide manufacturing team and operation, and customized and deployed numerous cutting-edge technologies for Align’s one-of-a-kind manufacturing process. The company does not plan to replace Mr. Hedge. His responsibilities will be transitioned to other Align executives.
AMD’s Emilio Ghilardi Leaves as SVP and Chief Sales Officer
AMD announces that Emilio Ghilardi, SVP and Chief Sales Officer, has left the company. Rory Read will stand for Mr. Ghilardi until replacement is found. The Company and Mr. Ghilardi entered into an Executive Resignation Agreement which provides, among other things, that Mr. Ghilardi will receive a lump sum separation payment of $800,000 from the company.
Aruba Networks’ Hitesh Sheth Leaves as COO
| Hitesh Sheth informed Aruba Networks of his intention to resign as Chief Operating Officer, effective June 1, 2012, to pursue other opportunities. |
Epocrates’ David Burlington to Leave as COO
David Burlington, the Chief Operations Officer of Epocrates, confirmed with the company that he will no longer be an employee of the Company, effective as of June 30, 2012.
Extreme Networks’ Jim Judson Resigned as Interim CFO
Jim Judson resigned effective as of June 29, 2012, as Interim Chief Financial Officer of Extreme Networks. In connection with his resignation, Mr. Judson and the company entered into a Resignation and Consulting Agreement, under which Mr. Judson agreed to assist the company as a consultant during a transition period of not less than two months.
Extreme Networks’ and Michael Seaton Enter into Resignation Agreement
As previously announced, Michael Seaton resigned as Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Services , effective as of May 31, 2012. The company and Mr. Seaton entered into a Resignation Agreement, pursuant to which, Mr. Seaton is entitled to a lump sum payment of $137,500 and the extension to September 30, 2012 of the exercise period for all of his vested options.
Netgear’s Shane Buckley to Leave as SVP & GM
Mr. Shane Buckley notified the company that he is resigning as the Company’s Senior Vice President & General Manager, Commercial Business Unit, effective May 15, 2012 to pursue other opportunities. Upon Mr. Buckley’s departure, NETGEAR Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Patrick Lo will temporarily take over as acting GM of the Commercial Business Unit until a permanent replacement can be hired.
Rovi’s James Budge Resigns as CFO
Mr. James Budge notified the company that he is resigning as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer effective May 18, 2012 for another professional opportunity.
Splunk’s Scott Thompson Resigns from the Board
Scott Thompson resigned as a member of the Board of Directors of Splunk Inc. and the Compensation Committee.
Telenav Announces Resignation of Douglas Miller as CFO
TeleNav announced the resignation of Douglas Miller as chief financial officer and treasurer of the company, effective June 15, 2012. Mr. Miller has no disagreements or disputes with the company. Mr. Miller is expected to continue to provide consulting services to the company although he and the Company have not entered into any such agreement to date.
Varian Medical Systems’ Tai-yun Chen Retires as SVP
Tai-yun Chen, Corporate Senior Vice President, Finance and Corporate Controller of Varian Medical Systems and it’s Principal Accounting Officer, informed the company of her intent to retire as of August 10, 2012. The Company is identifying a candidate to replace Ms. Chen.
VeriFone’s Charles Rinehart Will Not Stand Reelection
Mr. Charles R. Rinehart, a member of the Board of Directors of VeriFone Systems and the current Chairman of the Board notified the company that he will not stand for reelection to the Board of Directors at the Company’s upcoming 2012 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
Zynga loses Laurent Desegur as CTO of Mobile
Zynga’s CTO of mobile, Laurent Desegur, has been hired away by Game Closure as VP of Engineering.
Yahoo’s President & CEO Scott Thompson Leaves
Yahoo announced that the company and Scott Thompson entered into a mutually desired employment termination agreement effective May 12, 2012.
Board Appointments and Leaves
Accuray Appoints Richard Pettingill to the Board
Accuray appointed Richard Pettingill as a member of the Board. Mr. Pettingill served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Allina Hospitals and Clinics, Minnesota’s and western Wisconsin’s largest healthcare organization, from 2002 until his retirement in 2009. Prior to joining Allina Hospitals and Clinics, Mr. Pettingill served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the California Division of Kaiser Foundation Health Plans and Hospitals, one of the largest non-for-profit managed healthcare companies in the United States, from 1996 to 2002. Mr. Pettingill currently serves on the boards of directors of MAKO Surgical Corp., a medical devices company, and Tenet Healthcare Corporation, a medical services provider. Mr. Pettingill will receive the same cash and equity compensation for service on the Board and Board committees, if any, as is currently paid to all other non-employees Board members of Accuray.
Adobe Appoints Amy Banse, Frank Calderoni and Laura Desmond to the Board of Directors
Adobe appointed Amy Banse, Frank Calderoni and Laura Desmond to the Board of Directors. These appointments were made to fill vacancies created by an increase in the size of the Board of Directors from nine to twelve.
Amy Banse serves as managing director and head of funds, Comcast Ventures and senior vice president, Comcast Corporation. Prior to this role, she was president of Comcast Interactive Media (CIM), a division of Comcast responsible for developing Comcast’s online strategy and operating Comcast’s digital properties, including Fandango, Xfinity.com and Xfinitytv.com. Banse joined Comcast in 1991 and spent the early part of her career at Comcast overseeing the development of Comcast’s cable network portfolio.
Frank Calderoni serves as executive vice president and chief financial officer at Cisco, managing the company’s financial strategy and operations. Calderoni joined Cisco in 2004 from QLogic Corporation, a storage networking company where he was senior vice president and chief financial officer. Prior to that, he was senior vice president, Finance and Administration and chief financial officer for SanDisk Corporation, a flash data storage company. Before joining SanDisk, Calderoni spent 21 years at IBM, where he became vice president and held controller responsibilities for several divisions within the company.
Laura Desmond is the global chief executive officer of Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG), a global marketing services company which is part of the Publicis Groupe. She is also a member of the Publicis Groupe P12, an executive committee comprised of the company’s top global leaders. Prior to her appointment as global chief executive officer in 2008, Desmond was chief executive officer of SMG — The Americas from 2007 to 2008 where she managed a network spanning the United States, Canada and Latin America. She was chief executive officer of MediaVest, based in New York, from 2003 to 2007, and from 2000 to 2002 she was chief executive officer of SMG’s Latin America group. In addition to Adobe, Desmond also serves on the board of directors of VivaKi, which is part of Publicis Groupe, and oversees SMG, as well as ZenithOptimedia, Digitas and Razorfish.
CafePress Names Diane Irvine to Board of Directors
CafePress announced that Diane Irvine has been appointed to the Company’s Board of Directors. With Irvine’s appointment, the size of the CafePress Board of Directors has been increased to seven members. Ms. Irvine has also been appointed to the Audit Committee of the Board. Irvine, most recently served as Chief Executive Officer of Blue Nile, Inc., an online retailer of diamonds and fine jewelry. She currently serves on the board of directors for Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP) and has previously served on the boards of directors for Blue Nile (Nasdaq:NILE), Ticketmaster Entertainment, Inc. and Davidson Companies. Prior to serving as Chief Executive Officer, Irvine also held roles as President and as Chief Financial Officer of Blue Nile. Prior to that, she served as Chief Financial Officer of Plum Creek Timber Company, a timberland management and wood products company. Irvine was also previously a partner with Coopers and Lybrand.
DSP Group’s Louis Silver Resigns from the Board
Louis Silver resigned from the Board of Directors of the company, effective as of the 2012 Annual Meeting of Stockholders of DSP Group held on May 15, 2012. In recognition of Mr. Silver’s 13 plus years of service on, and valuable contributions to, the Board, the Board approved the acceleration of all of Mr. Silver’s outstanding options and extended the period for which Mr. Silver may exercise his options to 12 months from the date of his resignation.
Electronic Arts’ Linda Srere Retires from the Board
Linda Srere declared her intention to retire from the board of directors of Electronic Arts and not stand for re-election. Ms. Srere has served as a director of the Company since 2001 and her retirement will become effective at the Company’s 2012 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
Yahoo!’s Patti Hart Will Not Seek Reelection
Patti Hart notified the Board of Directors of Yahoo! Inc. that she will not seek re-election to the Board at Yahoo!’s 2012 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. The Board has reduced the size of the Board to nine directors, effective upon the election of directors at the Annual Meeting.
Yahoo! Appoints Daniel Loeb, Harry Wilson and Michael Wolf to the Board of Directors
Yahoo! Inc. appointed Daniel S. Loeb, Harry J. Wilson and Michael J. Wolf to serve as directors of Yahoo!. Messrs. Loeb, Wilson and Wolf will each participate in the current director compensation arrangements applicable to non-employee directors, except that Mr. Loeb has waived receipt of all equity awarded by Yahoo! pursuant to such compensation arrangements.
Executive Compensation Changes
Abaxis Approves New Base Salaries and Bonus Plan
Abaxis approved new fiscal 2013 base salaries and target bonus levels for the following named executive officers: Clinton Severson, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer, $450,000 and 138.9% of base salary; Alberto Santa Ines, Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Finance, $250,000 and 140%; Vladimir Ostoich, Ph.D., Vice President of Government Affairs and Vice President of Marketing for the Pacific Rim, $250,000 and 140%; Kenneth Aron, Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer, $250,000 and 140%; and Donald Wood, Chief Operations Officer, $250,000 and 140%.
A bonus will be earned only if the company achieves 90% or more of one or more of its pre-established quarterly net sales and/or pre-tax income goals during fiscal 2013. Payment of the Target Bonus, as identified above, is equally weighted at 50% for achievement of the Company’s quarterly net sales performance goal and 50% for achievement of the Company’s quarterly pre-tax income performance goal.
AMD Approves Base Salary Increase for Harry Wolin, SVP and General Counsel
AMD approved a base salary increase for Mr. Wolin, SVP and General Counsel. Mr. Wolin received a 5.3% increase in his base salary from $475,000 to $500,000.
GSI Technology Adopts a Variable Compensation Plan
GSI Technology adopted the 2013 Variable Compensation Plan. Each of the company’s executive officers is eligible to participate in the Plan. Certain other non-executive officers are also eligible to participate. Under the Plan, each participant has a designated target bonus. The target bonus for Lee-Lean Shu, the Company’s President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, is $250,000, and the target bonus for each of the other eligible executive officers is $125,000. The actual bonus award will be computed on the basis of the company’s fiscal 2013 operating results, with 40% of the award based on the achievement of targeted net revenues and 60% based on the achievement of targeted operating income, as adjusted to exclude certain specified categories of expenses. If the target performance goals are exceeded, the actual bonus award payable to participants may be up to two times the target bonus.
Symantec Approves Payouts for its Executives
Symantec approved the target payouts for its executive officers. Under the terms of these plans, the named executive officers will be eligible to receive performance-based incentive bonuses based on the company’s achievement of specified performance metrics for the fiscal year 2013. For named executive officers other than Enrique Salem, the Company’s chief executive officer, the incentive bonus will also be based on the named executive officer’s business unit performance. For named executive officers, the target payouts are as follows: for Enrique Salem, 150% of annual base salary at 100% achievement; for William Robbins, 105% of annual base salary at 100% achievement; for James Beer, 100% of annual base salary at 100% achievement; for Janice Chaffin, 95% of annual base salary at 100% achievement; and for Rebecca Ranninger, 70% of annual base salary at 100% achievement. For Mr. Salem, the actual bonus amounts are subject to the following metrics and weighting: (a) achievement of targeted annual revenue of Symantec (50% weighting); and (b) achievement of targeted annual non-GAAP earnings per share of Symantec (50% weighting). For named executive officers other than the CEO, the actual bonus amounts are subject to the following metrics and weighting: (a) achievement of targeted annual revenue of Symantec (50% weighting); (b) achievement of targeted annual earnings per share of Symantec (20% weighting); and (c) a metric based on the named executive officer’s business unit performance (30% weighting).
Xilinx Approves Executive Compensation
Xilinx approved the following salary adjustments for the following executive officers: Moshe Gavrielov base salary of $750,000; Jon Olson, base salary of $480,000; Victor Peng, base salary $470,000; Frank Tornaghi base salary of $385,000.
The company also approved the company’s Executive Incentive Plan for fiscal year 2013. The 2013 Incentive Plan provides for a cash bonus calculated as a percentage of the executive officer’s base salary. For fiscal 2013, the bonus target for the Chief Executive Officer is 125% of his base salary and the bonus targets for all other executive officers range from 60% to 75% of their respective base salaries, depending on their position. Under the 2013 Incentive Plan, the cash bonuses for the CEO and all other executive officers are determined using three different components, each with a different weighting. The three components are: (1) the company’s revenue growth, weighted at 30%; (2) the company’s operating profit, weighted at 30%; and (3) individual performance goals pertaining to each officer’s position and responsibilities, weighted at 40%.
Executives and Interims on Lookout
We constantly receive inquiries from our network of executives that are passively interested in new opportunities. Although, we do not represent individual candidates, from time to time, we facilitate connections between great leaders and opportunities. If interested, contact us at [email protected] or (650) 937-9150. We currently have the following executives on lookout.
• CFO – at public and private companies, Stanford and Wharton graduate
• CEO – with IPO experience in publicly traded communications company and wide range of startups
• Director of Corporate Development – currently a VP with a top investment banking firm
• VP Marketing – experienced in IP, semiconductors and devices, Cornell/UC Berkeley Ph.D.
• Director of Engineering – extensive experience in enterprise security, SaaS and cloud
• VP Software Development – experienced in leading large and diversified enterprise engineering teams
• Director of Business Development – wireless communications, Marketing and Operations
• VP of Business Development – in semiconductors with immense network in China, Taiwan and Singapore
• Board Member – SVP sales in public company interested to serve on a board of a private or public company
• VP of Technology – deep expertise and background in wireless, mobile, enterprise, analytics and cloud
• VP of Product Development – in Internet services company, cloud, SaaS
• General Counsel – with over 20 years of experience in publicly traded technology companies
Executive Job Market Data
Top trends in Executive Employment Market, according to ExecuNet 2012 Executive Job Market Intelligence Report.
Top five executive functions at highest demand in 2012:
1. Sales and Sales Enablement
2. General Management and Leadership
3. Marketing and Business Development/Market Research
4. Technology and Information Management
5. Financial Management
If you are looking to fill positions in these top functions, the competition for talent will intensify and you will need to think about engaging in customized recruiting approaches to reach out to quality candidates.
Top five most sought-after executive skills:
1. Build and lead high-performance teams
2. Industry-specific experience
3. Strategy and execution leadership
4. Functional/technical experience
5. Problem solving
Traditionally, industry and functional experience along with demonstrated leadership skills were the top three most sought-after executive skill sets. Now, employers are demanding executives to bring in ability to lead high-performing teams and strategy and execution leadership.
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About Simon Bloch and TowerHunter
About Simon Bloch
Simon leads the Technology practice for TowerHunter, and focuses on executive search of C-Level, Vice Presidents and Directors for companies in the Software, Semiconductors, Electronics, and Internet markets. He recruits leaders across all functions of an organization, including engineering, R&D, marketing, sales, business development, operations, finance, HR, IT, customer support, services and general management. Simon works with public, private, startup and international technology companies.
Simon’s experience ranges from a Vice President and General Manager at a billion dollar public company to founder and CEO of a venture-funded Silicon Valley start-up. Simon has recruited, hired and managed executives in the Silicon Valley, US, Europe, Middle East and Asia. He is passionate about connecting great leaders with opportunities and operates on the principals of a) being the best, b) delivering value, c) authenticity, and d) easy to do business with.
Simon holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the Tel Aviv University in Israel, with specializations in computers, microelectronics and medical equipment. He is a graduate of the Stanford University School of Business CTO leadership and innovation forum. Simon is a citizen of the US, Israel and Lithuania (part of European Union), he is fluent in English, Hebrew, Russian and Lithuanian languages. He and his family reside in the Silicon Valley, California. Simon welcomes your inquiries and can be reached at [email protected] or (650) 937-9150.
About TowerHunter
TowerHunter is a retained search firm with offices in Silicon Valley, Phoenix and Boston. We have completed hundreds of searches of C-level, VPs and Directors in engineering, sales, marketing, business development, operations, IT, HR and finance. These are the top reasons why our clients value our services:
1. Track record – we have an outstanding track record of 96% placement rate with 99% over one year stay
2. Business model – pay per performance fee structure with a stay guarantee
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4. Resources – a comprehensive candidate database with research staff to uncover passive candidates
5. Communications – we listen, plan, execute and communicate throughout the search process
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