EMC Corp. expected to name Tucci
Ex-Wang chief seen becoming president
By Steven Syre and Charles Stein, Globe Staff, 12/31/1999
ormer Wang Global chief executive Joseph Tucci is expected to be named president of computer storage giant EMC Corp. of Hopkinton, according to people familiar with the company.
The appointment of Tucci, who struck a deal in May to sell Wang to Getronics NV of the Netherlands for $2 billion, is expected to be announced soon, possibly today. He had resigned an executive position at Getronics this month, but remains on the supervisory board of the Dutch company.
In moving to EMC as president, Tucci, 52, will take one of the titles held by chief executive Michael Ruettgers, 57, who will continue to be the company's top-ranking executive. Cofounder Richard Egan is the chairman.
Ruettgers, who was named president and chief operating officer in 1989, has been EMC's chief executive since 1992.
Tucci could not be reached to comment yesterday.
EMC spokesman Mark Frederickson declined to comment yesterday on any specific executive changes at the company. But he said the rapid growth of EMC's business has created a need for more experienced executives.
'We have been looking for senior executive bench depth for some time,' Frederickson said. 'We're on the verge of becoming a $12 billion company and we're going to be one of the 10 largest software companies in the world. Just like other leaders of franchise technology companies, Mike has seen the need for more senior executive depth.'
EMC is expected to record sales of more than $5 billion for 1999, though some expect the company's revenues to grow to the $12 billion range within two years.
EMC has told analysts it plans to hire about 4,500 employees in the year ahead, significantly expanding its current work force of about 16,000.
Expectations for growth and the hot technology stock market propelled EMC past Gillette Co. this year as the state's most valuable public company, with shares worth a total of $112 billion. EMC stock reached a record yesterday, advancing 1 13/16 to 110 5/16.
Tucci has a long track record as a technology executive, working at Unisys Corp. for seven years before joining Wang in 1990.
He became president of Wang in 1993, when it emerged from US Bankruptcy Court protection, and began to move the company from its high-tech hardware roots to a pure computer services business.
Tucci made a series of deals, the biggest of which was Wang's $390 million purchase of the Euoprean computer services business of Italy's Olivetti SpA.
Despite growth that had boosted Wang's work force from 6,000 to 20,000 in six years, the company was still relatively small compared to its computer services competitors. Wang was on track to record annual revenues of $3.5 billion while a giant like IBM derived about $32 billion from computer services in 1998.
For all the company's expansion, Wang stock did not seem to respond. In an interview with The Boston Globe at the time of the company's sale, Tucci noted that Wang stock had been trading within a relativley narrow price band for a year.
Under those circumstances, the Ge tronics offer valued at 39 percent premium to Wang's stock price was hard to refuse.
Tucci remained at Getronics as deputy chief executive until Dec. 2. He had previously described the Getronics position as temporary. |
