Motorola Discontinues ZANDR
by John Paczkowski
Posted on December 3, 2007 at 5:47 AM PT
Looks like Ed Zander has a new title for that book he once joked about writing–“I Lost My Job. I Hate My Customers.” On Friday, Motorola said that Zander would turn over the job of chief executive to President Greg Brown on Jan. 1.
“It was a tough decision because I love the job,” said Zander. “I will be 61 in January and it is time to make way for one of the younger guys.” Sure is. With Motorola’s global market share slipping into the mud–it now ranks No. 3 after Nokia and Samsung with around a 13% share, down from about 21% just a year ago–the company is in desperate need of a turnaround.
Whether Brown’s the guy to do it remains to be seen. Certainly, investors aren’t so sure. “There are some investors who are disappointed that they didn’t bring in somebody from the outside,” Kaufman Brothers analyst Raimundo Archibold told Bloomberg. “This would have been an opportunity to bring in some fresh blood.”
Joan Lappin, president of Gramercy Capital Management, agreed. “I don’t see him as a person who is going to come in and razzle-dazzle the troops,” she said. “He’s kind of a bland guy.”
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