Symantec board ousts CEO Enrique Salem
Under pressure for disappointing financials, Symantec has abruptly replaced its CEO Enrique Salem with chairman Steve Bennett, the company has announced.
Symantec's public statements made almost no attempt to gloss over Salem's upending after a three-year reign in which the company has fallen out of favour, its most recent quarterly profits falling 10 percent year-on-year. Salem had worked for the vendor for almost two decades.
"It was in the board's judgment that it was in the best interests of Symantec to make a change in the CEO. My view is that Symantec's assets are strong and yet the company is under-performing against the opportunity," Bennett said in a press release. “The board’s decision to make a leadership change was not based on any particular event or impropriety but was instead made after ongoing consideration and a deliberative process,” chimed newly-appointed 'lead' director, Dan Schulman.