December 1, 2011

SeaChange Looks for New CEO

SeaChange International appointed board member Raghu Rau as interim CEO, effective immediately. This follows the retirement of the company founder, chairman, and CEO Bill Styslinger.

Thomas Olson, former CEO of Katz Media Group and of National Cable Media and a former SeaChange lead director who currently serves on the company’s board of directors, has been named chairman of the board. SeaChange also announced the board would immediately engage a search firm to identify a permanent CEO.

“We would like to express our appreciation to Bill Styslinger for founding SeaChange and leading the company to become a global leader in multi-screen video solutions and growing it into a software focused, profitable, debt-free company,” said Olson, in a statement. “I am also pleased to welcome Raghu Rau in his new role and believe his proven strategic and operational leadership experience in the technology industry and expertise in wireless technologies and network convergence ideally position him to lead the transition of SeaChange to the next level.”

As previously disclosed, with the help of its financial advisors, the board has been engaged in an evaluation of strategic alternatives for the company. After an extensive review of strategic alternatives, the board has decided that it is in the best interest of shareholders to continue as a standalone publicly traded company. The company is focused on significantly improving and streamlining operations, and the board will continue to evaluate alternatives for certain non-core businesses.
 
“Having been on the board for more than a year and witnessing the exciting pipeline of new, innovative products, I am very optimistic about the future prospects for SeaChange,” said Rau. “My immediate focus will be to act with a sense of urgency to drive shareholder value by focusing on improving financial performance, operational excellence and delivering exciting, high-quality, next generation products to our customers. I look forward to sharing more details during our earnings call next week.”