Western Digital Hires Chief Financial Officer
Five months after posting a stunning $4.6-million annual loss that was blamed largely on inadequate cost controls, Western Digital Corp. of Irvine Thursday announced that it has hired a new chief financial officer.
Effective Feb. 10, A.J. (Bert) Moyer will become the computer products maker’s vice president of finance and chief financial officer. William Benz, the former chief financial officer, will report to Moyer and serve as vice president and treasurer, according to Chairman and President Roger Johnson.
Moyer comes to Western Digital after serving as president and chief executive officer of Enhansys Inc., a software supplier and consulting firm. Before joining Enhansys in 1983, Moyer was vice president of finance for National Semiconductor Corp. where he oversaw all of the company’s financial and treasury operations.
Adding ‘More Talent’
Although Western Digital has been profitable for the last two quarters, Johnson said the company is growing so quickly that it needs “more management strength . . . more talent to handle the whole thing.” In the first six months of the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, revenues hit $76.8 million, a 65% increase over the prior year amount. Profits were $7.4 million, up 32% from the year before.
Nevertheless, Johnson has remained clearly displeased about the 1985 fiscal year performance. In the final quarter of the year, the company lost $13.4 million, an amount that wiped out the year’s previous gains and plunged the company into the red.
A few months after posting the loss, Johnson blamed it on a variety of one-time problems associated with completing several, simultaneous high-volume orders. He said that filling the orders required a costly around-the-clock manufacturing schedule that exceeded initial expense estimates.
“The good news was that we shipped the orders and met our customers’ needs,” Johnson said in October. “What was inexcusable was the surprise nature of the problem. We didn’t know just how much we were spending to get the job done.”
Johnson said Thursday that Moyer’s hiring is just one of several steps the company has taken in recent months to strengthen its management team. Several weeks ago, Johnson appointed Edward Marinaro executive vice president. Marinaro had been senior vice president for operations.
