Motorola Announces New Chairman
Motorola Inc. has announced it has appointed a new chairman, David Dorman, who previously worked as chief executive for telecom company AT&T. The announcement came following the conclusion of a dispute between the company and shareholder Carl Icahn.Motorola settled the disagreement by agreeing to appoint two of Icahn’s nominees as members of its board of directors. Dorman will take over next month when current chairman Ed Zander retires.
The position, however, is a non-executive one which means Dorman will head the board but will have no say in the daily operations of the company.
Dorman has been involved in the telecommunications industry for nearly 30 years. He served as business president at Sprint in 1994 and president and CEO at Pacific Bell from 1994 to 1997. When Pacific Bell was acquired by SBC Communications, he served as executive vice president until January 2008.
He was also CEO of Concert Communications Services in 1999 before working at AT&T for five years as president, chairman and CEO. He joined Motorola in 2006 as a member of its board. He is currently serving as managing director and senior adviser of Warburg Pincus and Co. and is a member of the board at Georgia Tech Foundation, CVS Corp. and Yum Brands Inc.
According to Motorola President and CEO Greg Brown, Dorman is an ideal choice for the position as his experience in the industry and familiarity with the company will benefit Motorola and its shareholders. For his part, Dorman expressed confidence in the direction the company is taking, stating that Motorola is composed of very capable people. He further states that he is looking forward to working in close collaboration with Greg Brown and the rest of the Motorola team in bringing satisfaction to its shareholders.
An analyst says that the appointment of Dorman is a good move as choosing a candidate that has worked in a similar corporate environment is vital to reorganizing the company and potentially improving Motorola’s standing in the industry.
Earlier this year, Motorola announced it will split into two separate companies following the lagging performance of its cellular phone division. Although the company had a big hit with its Razr line, it has since failed to sustain its efforts as it failed to come up with more innovative developments.
The split was deemed sensible as this will enable the company to concentrate on its more profitable business divisions. Meanwhile, as Motorola officially introduces its new chairman, the company’s share price plunged 18 percent to $9.31.