Symantec to raid tech giants for top talent in management rejig

Security giant to cut up to two in five management roles but will unveil fresh batch of "senior-level talent" soon

Symantec's CEO is set to unveil some high-profile raids on "some of the most recognised tech companies in the world", with some big-name new recruits to be unveiled in the coming weeks. But the security giant remains in the midst of a drive to eliminate up to 40 per cent of management posts and have "fewer, bigger roles for our best and brightest".

Speaking on an investor conference call (transcribed by Seeking Alpha) following the publication of the vendor's fourth-quarter results, chief executive Steve Bennett claimed FY13 had marked "the start of the transformation of Symantec".

The new fiscal year, which began at the start of last month, will see the completion of "the streamlining of our management structure", as well as the reallocation of R&D funds to "our most promising point solutions, exciting new integrated offerings and some exciting new partnerships" to be announced in the next few months.

Bennett went on to explain that "we expect to eliminate between 30 and 40 per cent of our management positions" during the year.

"We will have fewer, bigger jobs for our best and brightest," he said. "We are also attracting world-class talent from the outside, some of the most recognised tech companies in the world. Over the next few months, you'll hear more about some great senior-level talent coming to join and strengthen the Symantec leadership team."

For the fourth fiscal quarter, restructuring costs contributed to Symantec's GAAP net profit plummeting by about two thirds annually to $188m (£120.8m). This is despite operating margins increasing by three points year on year to 14.4 per cent and revenue growing four per cent to $1.75bn.

Full-year revenue rose three per cent to $6.9bn, with net income down more than a third to $765m. Bennett pointed to the three per cent organic sales expansion posted during the year, which he claimed was the highest growth rate in five years.

"We delivered better-than-expected results for the quarter and year," he added. "FY13 results were driven by our strong point solutions such as NetBackup, DLP and other information security offerings, as well as continued growth in our Norton and SEP endpoint products."