Polycom CEO to step down; co names successor

PLEASANTON, USA: Video conferencing company Polycom Inc said Robert Hagerty will step down as chief executive officer and resign from the board on Monday.

Polycom named executive vice president Andrew Miller - a former CEO of Norwegian rival Tandberg - as chief executive officer.

Hagerty, who also served as chairman, will be an adviser to Miller and the board. David DeWalt, Polycom's lead independent director, will assume the role of chairman.

"Andy Miller has been transformative in leading Polycom's shift to a more customer-centric execution model, which has already resulted in significant growth for the company," said David DeWalt, Polycom chairman of the Board of Directors.

"Andy's industry track record, proven leadership, and customer skills make him the ideal CEO to take Polycom to the next level. I also want to thank Bob Hagerty for growing Polycom from $37M to $1.1B over his 13 year tenure and for recruiting Andy to the Company, enabling this seamless succession," he added.

"It has been an honor to have led such a talented group of directors, management members, and employees during my time at Polycom," said Hagerty. "Andy is a perfect successor to lead Polycom through its next phase of growth. I am truly proud of what we have achieved thus far, and I believe Polycom has a tremendous opportunity in the exciting collaboration market." 

The board plans to appoint Miller to the board following this year's annual stockholders meeting.

Miller, who joined Polycom in 2009, was CEO of Tandberg from 2002 to 2006, and has worked with Cisco Systems Inc. Tandberg is a unit of Cisco.