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Investors demand Motorola`s next leader
Chicago, Sept 22: Motorola must quickly name a successor and map out a clear strategy following the surprise exit of its chairman Friday or the expected boost in the company`s stock price this week could be short-lived, analysts and investors said.
Chicago, Sept 22: Motorola must quickly name a successor and map out a clear strategy following the surprise exit of its chairman Friday or the expected boost in the company's stock price this week could be short-lived, analysts and investors said.
"There are some serious strategic questions they need to answer," Shawn Campbell, principal with Chicago-based Campbell Asset Management, which holds Motorola preferred shares, said of the board. "There's a lot of wood to chop here."
Motorola director John Pepper told Reuters in an e-mail Sunday that the search committee of which he is a member will consider all options for a new leader.
The company has not hired an executive search firm, a Motorola spokeswoman said. The board said Friday internal and external candidates would be considered and the search has begun to replace chairman and chief executive Christopher Galvin.
Pepper, in his e-mail, said he would not speculate how Galvin's departure would affect the world's No. 2 cell phone maker. He did not provide an explanation of the board's vision and the disagreements with Galvin, who announced his retirement Friday from the company.
Several analysts and a number of investors said Motorola stock is expected to get a boost from the news, announced after the the regular stock market session close.
In after-hours trading Friday on electronic trading platform Instinet, the company's stock rose more than 2 per cent to $11.33 per share from its close on Friday of $11.09 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Analysts and investors shared the view that the board needs to name a replacement quickly and clearly articulate their strategies, if the anticipated rise in the stock price is to be sustained.
Bureau Report
"There are some serious strategic questions they need to answer," Shawn Campbell, principal with Chicago-based Campbell Asset Management, which holds Motorola preferred shares, said of the board. "There's a lot of wood to chop here."
Motorola director John Pepper told Reuters in an e-mail Sunday that the search committee of which he is a member will consider all options for a new leader.
The company has not hired an executive search firm, a Motorola spokeswoman said. The board said Friday internal and external candidates would be considered and the search has begun to replace chairman and chief executive Christopher Galvin.
Pepper, in his e-mail, said he would not speculate how Galvin's departure would affect the world's No. 2 cell phone maker. He did not provide an explanation of the board's vision and the disagreements with Galvin, who announced his retirement Friday from the company.
Several analysts and a number of investors said Motorola stock is expected to get a boost from the news, announced after the the regular stock market session close.
In after-hours trading Friday on electronic trading platform Instinet, the company's stock rose more than 2 per cent to $11.33 per share from its close on Friday of $11.09 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Analysts and investors shared the view that the board needs to name a replacement quickly and clearly articulate their strategies, if the anticipated rise in the stock price is to be sustained.
Bureau Report