OCTOBER 29, 2008 By Stephen Hardy -- Kevin Kennedy will resign as JDSU's president and CEO to take an unspecified job with another company. He will remain on with JDSU's board of directors as vice chairman (search for JDSU).
JDSU did not say where Kennedy plans to go. A JDSU source contacted by Lightwave said Kennedy is expected to remain with the company through this December.
"My decision to leave JDSU reflects the convergence of a unique opportunity presenting itself as well as my confidence in the JDSU leadership team that is in place to execute the initiatives now underway which should result in best in class operating metrics," Kennedy was quoted as saying in an announcement. "I look forward to continuing to work with the team as a member of the board of directors."
The JDSU board has formed a succession committee, which is said to be already at work.
Kennedy joined JDSU as CEO in September 2003; he has been a member of the company's board since November 2001. Prior to JDSU, he served as COO of Openwave Systems Inc. He also spent seven years at Cisco.
The announcement was made during JDSU's FY09 Q1 earnings call. The company reported net revenue for the quarter was $380.7 million and the net loss was $16.4 million, or a loss of $0.08 per share. The figures compare to net revenue of $356.7 million and a net loss of $6.9 million (minus $0.03 per share) in the Q1 FY08. Operating loss for the most recent quarter was $16.6 million which compares to an operating loss of $21.5 million for the same quarter last fiscal year. The lower operating loss was primarily due to improved gross margins, JDSU said.