Marvell Soars Despite Senior Leadership Stepping Down

Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: MRVL) watched its shares jump in Tuesday’s regular trading session following an announced transition in senior leadership. The company announced the departure of CEO Sehat Sutardja and President Weili Dai from their management positions, effective immediately.

Both Sutardja and Dai will remain on the board of directors, with Sutardja continuing as chairman. The board, along with a leading executive search firm, will conduct a search for a new chief executive officer and president.

To oversee day-to-day leadership of Marvell’s operations, the board has formed an Interim Office of the Chief Executive, which will be led by Maya Strelar-Migotti, Executive Vice President of the Smart Networked Devices and Solutions (SNDS) Business Group, and Pantelis Alexopoulos, Executive Vice President of the Storage Business Group. Each has the authority to exercise all powers of the CEO.
[nativounit]
Arturo Krueger, Marvell’s lead outside director, commented:

The Board would like to thank Sehat and Weili for their enormous contributions and service since they founded Marvell in 1995.  Marvell has revolutionized the world through its innovative technology and breakthrough designs in the semiconductor industry.  However, the Board believes that the time has come to move in a new leadership direction.  The Company’s highest priority is to leverage Marvell’s strong core business and technology to drive the next stage of product innovation and profitable growth.  The Board has full confidence in the proven ability of Maya and Pantelis, together with the other members of the Interim Office of the Chief Executive and all of Marvell’s employees, to continue providing world-class research and development and customer support during this time of transition.  We look forward to demonstrating our continuing commitment to excellence in our products and service, as well as to creating value for our shareholders.

Shares of Marvell were last seen up nearly 12% at $10.76 on Tuesday, with a consensus analyst price target of $10.39 and a 52-week trading range of $7.40 to $15.47.