Thursday, June 22, 2006

Novell Dumps CEO, CFO

Novell has dumped CEO Jack Messman and CFO Joseph Tibbetts, the company said today, saying that the board of directors has determined that the management change would be the best way to accelerate the company's growth strategy and build value for shareholders. The board has elected Ronald W. Hovsepian, president of the company, to the position of CEO. Both Messman and Tibbetts have left Novell, as of yesterday. Novell said that Messman will remain on the board of directors until the end of October, but has been removed as Chairman of the board. Novell has been struggling to increase its sales and profits, as the company's Linux strategy has not taken off as quickly as expected. Dana C. Russell, currently VP of Finance and Corporate Controller for Novell, will serve as interim CFO. Hovsepian has been at Novell since June of 2003, and has served at IBM and was a Managing Director at venture capital firm Internet Capital Group. More information »