Micron Appoints New CEO Following Death of Appleton

COO ditches retirement plans to fill Appleton's shoes.

Just a few days ago, Micron confirmed that 51-year-old Chairman and CEO Steve Appleton had passed away in a plane accident. The semiconductor company has since announced the appointment of new CEO Mark Durcan. Durcan was named interim CEO on Friday, shortly after Micron announced the death of Steve Applton. On Saturday the company confirmed that Durcan would be the new Chief Executive, despite announcing his intention to leave the company this summer. Prior to accepting his new position, Durcan had planned to retire from his role as COO in August. Micron said in a statement released on Saturday that the company was lucky to have somebody like Mr. Durcan.

"We are fortunate to be able to appoint someone with Mark's operations and technical leadership experience to serve as the company's CEO," said  Robert E. Switz of Micron's Board of Directors. "Mark has been instrumental in Micron's success in his role as President and COO and has garnered the respect of the company, his team members and the industry at large."

In addition to his new job as CEO, Durcan joins Switz on the Board of Directors, while Switz, who has sat on the Micron board for six years, has been named Chairman of the Board. Mark W. Adams has been named President.

Appleton, a professional stunt plane pilot and former motocross racer, was the only one in the plane when it crashed on Friday morning. Described as an experimental fixed wing single engine Lancair, Ada County dispatch in southwestern Idaho said it received reports that the plane was actually on fire even before it attempted to land at Boise airport.

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