IMAGE SOURCE: MARVELL TECHNOLOGY.
What happened?
Struggling tech hardware specialist Marvell Technology (MRVL +0.76%) has handed out pink slips to two of its leaders. The company announced that CEO Sehat Sutardja and president Weili Dai -- Sutardja's wife -- no longer occupy those positions, effective immediately. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the two, who are co-founders of the company, were fired by the board of directors. They will, however, retain their seats on the board, with Sutardja keeping his position of chairman.
The company will be led by an interim Office of the Chief Executive. This will be occupied by a pair of its executives, Maya Strelar-Migotti and Pantelis Alexopoulos. The board is to seek a permanent CEO and president with the assistance of an unspecified "leading executive search firm."
The move follows a series of setbacks and controversies for Marvell Technology. It has been under internal and external investigation for some of its business practices, and late last month it disclosed that it will not be able to submit its 10-K filing by the mandated deadline.
Does it matter?
The termination of Sutardja and Dai was a sensible and necessary action, given the worsening problems at Marvell Technology. The two clearly weren't coping effectively with any of them; the company needed new leadership badly.
The changes at the top will be welcomed by shareholders. But that's only the beginning. Among numerous other challenges, the accounting issues will need to be sorted out sooner rather than later. Also, the company will also need to figure out a way to improve its fundamentals, as it is anticipating drastically lower revenue for the 2016 fiscal year and a net loss.
