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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Jane McEntegart is a writer, editor, and marketing communications professional with 17 years of experience in the technology industry. She has written about a wide range of technology topics, including smartphones, tablets, and game consoles. Her articles have been published in Tom's Guide, Tom's Hardware, MobileSyrup, and Edge Up.
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dotaloc Obviously I don't know what I'm talking about, but my first thought was that the new CEO had the old one taken out...and has been planning it a while, thus the convenient 'retirement plans'.Reply
Good cover.
Maybe I've been watching too much Law and Order. -
It's a signficant loss for Micron as the past CEO was instrumental in keeping them going through the past few rough years. I believe that he was one of the few execs in the industry who actually took no pay during the roughest times. Hopefully his replacement will be able to carry on the company.Reply
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computernerdforlife Am I the only one that read Microsoft instead of Micron? Maybe i'm the only one that wanted this to happen, or subconsciously I want Balmer, aka a big fat yelling rich billionaire, out/off of his bald throne.Reply
2015+ is too far Balmer -- stock holders like me want sooner rather than later so that our shares rise instead of break even for 2 years. IMHO. -
jerrspud Reply9343881 said:Obviously I don't know what I'm talking about, but my first thought was that the new CEO had the old one taken out...and has been planning it a while, thus the convenient 'retirement plans'.
Good cover.
Maybe I've been watching too much Law and Order.
I agree, you obviously don't know what your talking about -
wba4493 I'll be interested to see what Duncan does in response to the HDD shortage... tough situation to get thrown in the middle of!Reply