Salem slaloms out of Symantec hot seat

Steve Bennett takes over in top-tier reshuffle as Salem's three-year reign comes to an end

Symantec's chief executive Enrique Salem has stepped down with immediate effect at the same time the firm reported a Q1 profit slump.

For the quarter ended 29 June, Symantec posted revenue of $1.7bn (£1bn), up one per cent on the previous year. But net profit dropped 9.9 per cent to $172m compared with $191m a year ago.

The security giant has appointed Steve Bennett as president and chief executive in addition to his continued role as chairman of the board.

In a statement, Bennett said: "Enrique Salem has been a significant contributor during his 19 years' associated with Symnatec, including the past three years as CEO.

"While progress has been made over the past three years in many areas, it was the board's judgment that it was in the best interests of Symantec to make a change in the CEO," he added.

"My view is that Symantec's assets are strong and yet the company is underperforming against the opportunity. I am looking forward to working with the team to build upon the significant assets in place to help Symantec accelerate value creation for all its stakeholders."

Dan Schulman, newly appointed lead director of Symantec, added: "The board's decision to make a leadership change was not based on any particular event or impropriety but was instead made after ongoing consideration and a deliberative process.

"We are fortunate as a board to be able to name Steve as CEO and achieve continuity in leadership. Steve understands the company well, had a great track record at Intuit and General Electric and is a perfect fit for moving the company forward."