John Swainson may retire at the end of this year as CA (Nasdaq: CA) CEO, but he will forever be remembered as the saviour of the company
Not too long ago when CA was called Computer Associates and it was mired in an dreadful accounting scandal that rocked the company and sent its CEO Sanjay Kumar to jail.
The company back in 2004 vowed it would move passed this scandal, but yet it was still in decline.
After a series of interim bosses, CA settled on Swainson, a Canadian executive from B.C. who built his career at IBM under the tutaledge of John Thompson, who was named one of the top 20 Builders and Visionaries by CDN.
Swainson basically built IBM’s middleware division, from Thompson’s vision and plan, as its president and CEO-elect.
By hiring Swainson, CA for the first time went outside its company for help. But, the move paid off as the company during his five plus years of leadership has regained its leadership and respect in the market place.
“Five years ago, I joined CA with the goal of helping CA become a trusted, valued, and strategic partner, not only to our customers, shareholders, employees, but also in the communities where we live and work around the world,” said Swainson. “I am very proud that the CA team has largely accomplished the goal we set five years ago. We have restored CA’s business momentum, delivered 14 quarters of solid financial results and are positioning the company for the next phase of growth driven by promising technologies that include virtualization and cloud computing. This is the opportune time to transition to new leadership as CA begins its drive to the next level.”
Swainson will work in tandem over a four-month transition period with interim CEO Ken Cron.
Cron temporarily took over CA during the scandal right after Kumar stepped down as part of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into allegations that he and other former CA executives extended reporting periods improperly to meet financial expectations.
A committee of the company’s Board of Directors has been formed to begin an immediate search for a successor.
Swainson will remain CEO and a director of the Company during the transition and plans to step down as a member of the board effective upon his retirement from CA.
To assist in the transition, the CA board has named William E. McCracken, previously non-executive Chairman of the Board, as the company’s interim-executive Chairman of the Board until a successor for Swainson is named, or at the discretion of the Board.
The company also announced that CA board member Gary J. Fernandes has been named as interim-lead Independent Director during the transition.