Motorola taps private equity realm for new CFO
Paul J. Liska, an executive known for his strength in cost-cutting measures, comes to Motorola during one of the company's most turbulent periods in recent history.
By Suzanne Deffree, Managing Editor, News -- EDN, February 22, 2008
Motorola Inc has tapped the private equity realm for its new CFO, Paul J. Liska, an executive known for his strength in cost-cutting measures.
Effective March 1, Liska will take the seat and relieve Tom Meredith, the company’s acting CFO, of the respective duties. Meredith took on the role in April 2007, after David Devonshire resigned the position at the struggling Schaumburg, Ill.-based company.
Liska will report directly to Greg Brown, president and CEO. Brown became CEO of Motorola in January when Edward J. Zander stepped down.
The management changes are evidence of a very turbulent period in Motorola’s history. The company, after loosing much of its momentum from its launch of the Razr handset and falling behind Nokia and Samsung in terms of handset sales, has reported significant losses on its failing mobile devices business unit. Indeed, so much so that Motorola last month announced that it is looking at alternatives for the business that may include the separation of mobile devices from its other two units: enterprise mobility solutions and home and networks mobility.
Motorola has further set in affect strict cost-cutting measures, including laying off more than 7,500 employees and planning additional expense cuts around the $500 million mark, as it attempts to regain its status as a strong electronics industry player.
"Since appointing Tom Meredith as acting CFO, we have undertaken a thorough search process to identify candidates with financial, operational and strategic experience,” Brown said in a statement Thursday. “We are fortunate that Paul has such a broad set of general management and CFO experience. Paul will be a very valuable addition to our team and he is well-suited to drive forward the important work already under way to enhance our financial performance."
Prior to joining Motorola, Liska served as an industrial partner for various private equity firms including MidOcean Partners, CVC Capital Holdings, and Ripplewood Holdings.
From 2004 to 2006, Liska served as executive chairman of US Freightways until its purchase by Yellow Roadway, and served in various capacities with Weekly Reader Companies, including executive chairman.
From 2001 to 2004, Liska held several positions with Sears, Roebuck and Co, including president of credit and financial products and executive VP and CFO. At Sears, Liska negotiated the 2003 sale of the retail giant’s massive credit-card business to Citigroup Inc for about $3 billion.
Prior to joining Sears, Liska was executive VP and CFO of The St. Paul Companies from 1997 to 2001, where he was credited with cutting expenses by $500 million and boosting shareholder value.
Meredith will continue as a non-management board member and will work closely with Liska to ensure a smooth transition, Motorola said.
