Brocade boss steps down

Network storage vendor Brocade has formed a search committee to hunt for a new CEO after global boss Michael Klayko announced his resignation.

The announcement was made during the company’s reporting of its third-quarter financial results yesterday. Klayko will continue in his role until a successor is found.

Brocade chairman Dave House said Klayko had led the company through major acquisitions, including of Foundry Networks in 2008 and McData in 2005, in his 7-year role.

“We wish him the best and appreciate his continued service to Brocade as the company works to identify the right leader to assume his role."

Klayko’s move following his departure from Brocade is unclear. He said in a statement it was the right time to step down. 

“The company is in a great position financially, and our product pipeline will continue to strengthen and clearly separate Brocade from other networking providers.”

Brocade last underwent an executive reshuffle in March, appointing new global and APAC channel chiefs.

Former worldwide channel chief Barbara Spicek returned to her native Germany to run Brocade's EMEA OEM business unit, with vice president of Americas sales Regan McGrath taking her place.

And Charlie Foo, former senior director of Brocade's Partner Business Group for APAC, became vice president of the region, based in Singapore.

Q3 results

Brocade’s investors were impressed with its third-quarter results, shooting shares up 11 percent, but didn’t react well to the news of Klayko’s departure, dropping back to $US5.63 ($A5.35) at close.

Brocade posted net income of $US43.3 million, a huge jump from the $US2 million it posted in the previous corresponding quarter.

Revenue was up 10 percent to $US555.3 million, helped by a 70 percent contribution from its storage division, which posted a 13 percent increase in revenue to $US377.6 million

"Fiscal Q3 was a great quarter for Brocade. With continued differentiation in our products and focused execution across our organisation, we were able to overcome many issues in the current challenging macroeconomic environment,” Klayko said in a statement.

“As a result, our financial performance in the quarter exceeded our expectations for revenue, operating margin and earnings per share.”