Emulex Corp. Founder to Give Up His Job as Firm’s Chief Executive

Emulex Corp. said late Friday that its founder, Fred B. Cox, is stepping down as chief executive of the computer products manufacturer.

Cox will keep the title of chief executive until a successor is found, Emulex said, and he will “continue active involvement with the company as its chairman.”

Cox said in a statement that the company hopes to name a new chief executive by the end of the year. In the interim, David Hanna, an Emulex director and consultant, will serve as president and will assume daily responsibilities for the company.

Cox could not be reached for comment Friday.

In the statement, Cox says he intends to remain involved with the company that he founded in 1979, particularly in maintaining relationships with the firm’s most important customers.

Cox also says he will “devote a great deal of my time and attention to selecting the caliber of CEO who can make sure we realize our full potential as a worldwide competitor.”

“David Hanna’s broad experience in the computer industry, both in general management and marketing, as well as his knowledge of Emulex will be invaluable to us during the transition,” Cox says in the statement.

Cox has been involved in the founding and management of several Orange County high-technology concerns, including Microdata, which was later acquired by McDonnell Douglas Corp. He also has served as a marketing executive with International Business Machines Corp.

Cox founded Emulex as a supplier of data storage products and data communications equipment for the computer industry and has been the company’s chief executive since that time.

Cox’s announcement comes two months after the company reported a $3-million third-quarter loss on sharply lower sales. For the nine months ended April 1, Emulex lost $2 million on sales of $88 million. For the period the year before, it reported profits of $11 million on sales of $111 million.