NEW YORK (AP) – Peregrine Systems Inc. said Monday its chief executive, Gary Greenfield, stepped down and was replaced by John Mutch, one of the software company’s new board members.
Greenfield joined the San Diego company in June 2002 amid a massive accounting scandal and steered it through a several rounds of layoffs, asset sales and bankruptcy proceedings.
Peregrine emerged from Chapter 11 protection earlier this month and appointed a new board of directors. On Monday, the company said James Jenkins, a hedge fund manager at Mellon HVB, has been elected chairman.
Greenfield was expected to continue to run the company after bankruptcy, according to court documents, but the new board opted for a change at a meeting held with Greenfield last week.
“In working with the (new) board, it makes sense for someone that has a fresh look” to take the helm, Greenfield said in an interview Monday. Greenfield said he is leaving on good terms and has agreed to assist his successor over the next 90 days.
“There has been a lot of strain on the company in the course of the last year and I helped to stabilize the company,” he added. “At this stage we need somebody who can marry the old with the new.”
Mutch, 47 years old, is the former chief executive of HNC Software Inc., a fellow San Diego software company that was acquired in August 2002. He joined Peregrine’s board during bankruptcy in March 2003.
Mutch said Greenfield did a “fantastic job turning the company around” but that with the bankruptcy completed a new leadership was needed to “develop and operate a growth strategy.”
Mutch said his top priorities include completing overdue financial statements and getting Peregrine shares relisted on Nasdaq. The company has said it hopes to file a 10-K for its fiscal year ended March 31 and a 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30 by the end of October.
Also Monday, MeeLin Nakata, a Peregrine spokeswoman, confirmed that Frederic Luddy, the company’s chief technology officer, had resigned last week. Nakata said Luddy, a 10-year Peregrine veteran, will continue to work with the company for several months and his resignation wasn’t related to Greenfield’s departure.
