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Ed Zander to Step Down as Motorola CEO

6:15 am on December 1, 2007 | Category: Business, Cell Phones, Corporate

American technology executive, Ed Zander, has announced plans to resign as CEO of the world’s third largest cell phone manufacturer, Motorola Inc., effective January 1.

During his four year tenure as Motorola’s Chief Executive, Zander helped launch the super-slim RAZR phone, which became America’s #1 handset in 2005. He has faced criticism in recent quarters, however, due to an ongoing slide in sales that has seen Motorola’s share of the global handset market dwindle from 20% to 13% in the past year and a half.

Earlier this year, Zander’s leadership was challenged by billionaire shareholder activist, Carl Icahn, who bought up close to 3% of Motorola and attempted to gain a seat on the company’s board of directors. Icahn was ultimately unsuccessful in his quest, but did manage to trigger a bitter proxy war that called the performance of Motorola’s top executives into question.

Zander will be replaced by current Chief Operating Officer, Greg Brown, who faces a tough challenge in getting Motorola back on track in the coming years.

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