CA's Cron To Remain Interim CEO

Cron, currently CA's interim CEO, will likely retain that status after the company's annual stockholders meeting Wednesday in Hauppauge, N.Y., according to sources familiar with the company's plans.

For weeks, industry sources and numerous CA officials have openly speculated that Wednesday's meeting would be an ideal venue for resolving leadership questions by electing a permanent CEO. Doing so would close a chapter that began with the resignation of former chairman and CEO Sanjay Kumar.

Cron has earned high marks from the channel during his tenure as interim CEO. "It seems there's a lot more excitement from CA about the channel," said Sean McTaggart, president of TriLine Solutions, Holland, Mich. "My local CA rep just contacted me and wanted to come to Michigan and meet. That's something I've never seen before from CA."

But while CA shareholders are scheduled to vote on a list of company directors--including Cron, CA Executive Vice President Russell Artzt and former U.S. Senator Alfonse D'Amato--the company has not slated a vote to elect the CEO, according to the proxy statement.

At the shareholder meeting, "[CA chairman] Lou Ranieri will get up and address the performance of [Cron] as interim CEO. He'll praise Ken. But there will be no vote," a CA source said.

A CA director since 2002, Cron took the reins as interim CEO in April 2004 after an accounting scandal eventually led to Kumar's resignation.

Cron's employment agreement as interim CEO of the company ends March 2005, according to CA's proxy statement. Cron told CRN in May that he isn't a candidate for the CEO post.

Ken Schwartz, CIO and security practice leader for Western New York Computing Systems, an MSP and CA partner based in Pittsford, N.Y., praised Cron's aggressiveness and understanding of the channel.

"Ken has done a great job turning the company back toward an acquisition mode," said Schwartz. "Buying Pest Patrol was a great acquisition at a time when CA competitors are also buying solution sets," said Schwartz. "I think he'd make a great long-term CEO. He understands the channel and continues to drive business through the channel."