Thursday, July 7th 2016
Western Digital Announces CFO Transition
Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC) today announced the appointment of Mark Long to oversee the company's finance organization as executive vice president, finance, in addition to his role as chief strategy officer. Long will succeed Olivier Leonetti as chief financial officer on Sept. 1, 2016. Leonetti is leaving the company to pursue other opportunities but will continue as CFO through Sept. 1, 2016, reporting to CEO Steve Milligan, and will oversee the completion of the company's fiscal year-end reporting requirements. He will continue in an advisory role to the CEO through Oct. 1, 2016.
"The company is going through a strategic and organizational transformation with the integration of our HGST and WD subsidiaries as well as integrating the recently completed acquisition of SanDisk," said Milligan. "Although in the early stages, we are already seeing the benefits of these strategic steps. As we build on our strategy-driven focus in a tightly integrated manner, it is the right time to combine the strategy and finance organizations and Mark Long is the right leader of this integrated team, with his extensive experience in financial and strategic planning. Olivier Leonetti has made a tremendous contribution to Western Digital in nearly two years as CFO. He played a key role through the successful planning, financing and completion of the SanDisk acquisition. The company is grateful for his contribution and his continued stewardship of our finances through the fiscal year-end reporting process."
"I am proud of what we have accomplished at Western Digital, particularly the successful completion of the transaction with SanDisk," said Leonetti, who joined WDC as CFO in 2014. "Western Digital has a first-class executive team and I am confident that the finance and strategy organization is in good hands with Mark."
"I am honored to succeed Olivier and look forward to working with the entire team as we continue on the path of long-term value creation for all of our stakeholders," said Long. "I cannot think of a more exciting time to step into this position as we integrate and evolve. There are significant opportunities ahead of us as we come together and strive to reach our potential as the leading storage solutions provider."
Long has served as the chief strategy officer at Western Digital and HGST over the past three years and will continue in that role. He played a lead role in conceiving, executing and completing the SanDisk acquisition in addition to several other acquisitions.
Preliminary Fourth Fiscal Quarter Financial Results; Sets Q4 Earnings Call for July 28th
The company also reported preliminary financial results for its fourth fiscal quarter ended July 1, 2016. Reflecting the ownership of SanDisk Corp. as of May 12, 2016, the company now expects its fourth quarter revenue to be approximately $3.46 billion, compared to its earlier forecast of $3.35 billion to $3.45 billion. Non-GAAP gross margin is expected to be approximately 31 percent, consistent with its earlier forecast. The company now expects fourth quarter EPS, on a non-GAAP basis, to be approximately $0.72, compared with its earlier forecast range of $0.65 to $0.70.[1] The company will report its final results for the fourth fiscal quarter after the market closes on July 28, 2016.
"The company is going through a strategic and organizational transformation with the integration of our HGST and WD subsidiaries as well as integrating the recently completed acquisition of SanDisk," said Milligan. "Although in the early stages, we are already seeing the benefits of these strategic steps. As we build on our strategy-driven focus in a tightly integrated manner, it is the right time to combine the strategy and finance organizations and Mark Long is the right leader of this integrated team, with his extensive experience in financial and strategic planning. Olivier Leonetti has made a tremendous contribution to Western Digital in nearly two years as CFO. He played a key role through the successful planning, financing and completion of the SanDisk acquisition. The company is grateful for his contribution and his continued stewardship of our finances through the fiscal year-end reporting process."
"I am proud of what we have accomplished at Western Digital, particularly the successful completion of the transaction with SanDisk," said Leonetti, who joined WDC as CFO in 2014. "Western Digital has a first-class executive team and I am confident that the finance and strategy organization is in good hands with Mark."
"I am honored to succeed Olivier and look forward to working with the entire team as we continue on the path of long-term value creation for all of our stakeholders," said Long. "I cannot think of a more exciting time to step into this position as we integrate and evolve. There are significant opportunities ahead of us as we come together and strive to reach our potential as the leading storage solutions provider."
Long has served as the chief strategy officer at Western Digital and HGST over the past three years and will continue in that role. He played a lead role in conceiving, executing and completing the SanDisk acquisition in addition to several other acquisitions.
Preliminary Fourth Fiscal Quarter Financial Results; Sets Q4 Earnings Call for July 28th
The company also reported preliminary financial results for its fourth fiscal quarter ended July 1, 2016. Reflecting the ownership of SanDisk Corp. as of May 12, 2016, the company now expects its fourth quarter revenue to be approximately $3.46 billion, compared to its earlier forecast of $3.35 billion to $3.45 billion. Non-GAAP gross margin is expected to be approximately 31 percent, consistent with its earlier forecast. The company now expects fourth quarter EPS, on a non-GAAP basis, to be approximately $0.72, compared with its earlier forecast range of $0.65 to $0.70.[1] The company will report its final results for the fourth fiscal quarter after the market closes on July 28, 2016.
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