Mike Brown CEO, Symantec

The board of directors of Symantec Corp. announced the appointment of Michael A. Brown as the company’s CEO, effective immediately.
 
 He has been serving as interim president and CEO since March 2014.

On behalf of Symantec’s Board, chairman Dan Schulman said: “I am thrilled thatchairma, and CEO at Quantum after conducting a broad and thorough search, the board has unanimously chosen Mike to lead Symantec into the future. As interim CEO, Mike brought energy and intensity to the organization that created momentum in the business, made significant improvements to Symantec’s operating and financial performance and brought additional talent to our industry-leading team. Most importantly, he demonstrated vision and creativity as he has worked with the Board and the management team to develop a strategic plan based on focused investment and innovation in key areas of high customer need. With this appointment, the board looks forward to working with Mike to bring this vision to reality and to continue Symantec’s momentum.”

Brown will share the company’s strategic plan with shareholders, customers and employees within the next 30 days. The plan will build upon the company’s stated priorities, increase focus on the customer and build shareholder value.

David Mahoney, head of the board’s CEO search committee, said: “The board ran a robust and diligent global CEO search over the last six months, during which we received interest from world-class candidates, including current and former CEOs and technology leaders from successful public companies. Mike went through this same rigorous process and distinguished himself among the candidates.”

His appointment follows a multistep search process conducted by a special committee of the board of directors in conjunction with executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates over the last six months. The search included reviewing over 100 qualified candidates, more than 30 of whom were actively vetted.

Brown said: “The demand for security and information management solutions has never been greater, and I am honored to be named Symantec’s CEO as we work to deliver innovation and value for our customers. Symantec is the global leader in security, and the threats facing our customers are becoming increasingly sophisticated and complex. In my time as interim CEO, Symantec has made significant progress to strengthen our business and accelerate our innovation, and I am proud of the individual and collective efforts of Symantec’s team. Specifically, we are focusing our investments in businesses where demand is greatest and improving operational efficiencies to grow revenue and operating margin. I look forward to continuing to focus the company’s strategy to deliver for our customers and our shareholders.”

Since he was appointed interim president and CEO in March 2014, Symantec has returned to year-over-year revenue growth and has consistently exceeded its revenue and operating margin guidance. He has introduced new revenue and efficiency initiatives, which contributed to increased revenue in the first quarter of fiscal 2015 and have put Symantec in position to further enhance revenue growth in the second half of fiscal 2015. He also made key executive hires as he worked to further develop Symantec’s executive management team.

Brown joined Symantec’s board of directors following the company’s merger with VERITAS Software in July 2005, and previously served as chairman and CEO of Quantum Corporation. Under his leadership, Quantum grew from $3 billion to $6 billion in revenues and held market leadership positions in primary storage, secondary storage as well as backup and archiving solutions. More recently, he has been a board chairman and CEO coach for several technology companies prior to their acquisitions, including EqualLogic, Line 6 and The Echo Nest. In addition to his expertise in growing businesses, he has experience in leading and developing executive management teams.