EMC's DeWalt named new McAfee chief

McAfee Inc.'s board of directors on Monday named former EMC Corp. executive Dale DeWalt as the security software company's chief executive officer and president.

Robert Mullins

Mon, 5 Mar 2007 23:00:00 UTC

McAfee Inc.'s board of directors on Monday named former EMC Corp. executive Dale DeWalt as the security software company's chief executive officer and president.

DeWalt, 42, takes the helm of a company tainted by allegations surrounding backdating of stock options by former executives.

DeWalt, a 20-year veteran of the technology industry, most recently was executive vice president and president of customer operations for EMC.

David Fuller, McAfee's interim president and CEO, will leave that job April 1, the day before DeWalt takes over. Fuller will stay as an advisor to help with the transition and will remain on the board. DeWalt is also expected to be appointed to the board.

Fuller stepped in as interim chief in October 2006 following the resignation of George Samenuk as chairman and CEO and Kevin Weiss as president. They left following allegations that they were involved in improperly backdating stock options to McAfee executives.

Last week, former McAfee legal counsel Kent Roberts was arraigned on federal fraud charges in relation to his role in the backdating scandal. He pleaded not guilty before a federal judge in San Francisco.