posted 03-17-2014 03:52 PM                       

quote: USA Today (my emphasis)

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ROCHESTER, N.Y. — For years, Eastman Kodak Co. has had a succession of top bosses whose jobs were a mix of dealing with flailing, dying businesses and trying to find the next new direction.

New CEO Jeffrey J. Clarke said his top job is to make Kodak a growing company again.

"My marching orders are that Kodak is in a position now where its balance sheet, its legacy costs are behind it," Clarke said Wednesday, his first day on the job. "I've been asked by the board to drive growth of the company. The mandate for the new CEO is growth."

Kodak announced Wednesday that it had hired Clarke, effective immediately, to replace Antonio M. Perez, who had been at the helm of Kodak since 2005. Perez had announced in July that he would be leaving the company within a year. Kodak said Wednesday that Perez was not available for comment.

Clarke, 52, is managing partner of Augusta Columbia Capital, a New York investment firm specializing in technology companies. Prior to that, he was chairman of Travelport Inc., a travel technology firm.

Clarke — a native New Yorker — is a 1983 State University College at Geneseo graduate with a bachelor's degree in economics. "I have deep roots" in upstate New York, he said.

In a statement, Kodak board Chairman James V. Continenza said, "Jeff is the right person to lead Kodak forward. His combination of strengths and experience in technology, transformation, finance, operations, and international business is precisely what we set out to find in the next leader of Kodak. His past leadership positions have included businesses selling hardware, software and services, and printing — with B2B customers as well as consumers."

Perez resigned from the position Wednesday. Under Perez's tenure, Kodak shed numerous businesses and legions of employees and went through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy as part of the company's long efforts to reinvent itself from its traditional, film and photography roots. Under Perez, Kodak has now positioned itself as a printing technology company, specializing in inkjet and packaging printing and in using printing-related processes for manufacturing such products as touchscreen thin films.

"I think Kodak has always had an incredible global platform," Clarke said. "It always had the innovation, the ability to create new products. My background is that you can create growth with great products and innovation.

"I've spent the last 11 years in Silicon Valley. Many of these start-ups would love to have a brand, a distribution network as strong as Kodak. There's huge opportunity for Kodak with functional printing, a huge opportunity for printing on packaging. We're in very good shape going forward."

According to paperwork filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Clarke was hired with an annual base salary of $1 million. He also received $3 million in restricted stock and $1 million in stock options. And he is eligible for bonuses under the company's Executive Compensation for Excellence and Leadership Plan.

Clarke said his primary residence will remain in the San Francisco area, where his family is, and will split his time between there and Rochester, N.Y.

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posted 03-17-2014 11:05 PM                    

quote: Leo Enticknap

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So, like Perez, he comes from a Silicon Valley background and is basically saying that he's going to carry on the same strategy (moving Kodak into commercial printing and away from traditional photography and photochemistry). Unsurprising, but not good news for the film business.

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