New Ingram CEO Says He’ll Work for No Salary
Ingram Micro Inc., the world’s largest distributor of microcomputer products, Tuesday named a new chief executive who said he will work for no salary.
Jerre L. Stead, 53, a corporate veteran with broad global experience in technical markets, said he will take compensation in stock options to be granted if the company meets certain financial goals.
Stead, who was previously chairman and chief executive of the NCR unit of AT&T; Corp., succeeds Linwood Lacy, who resigned in May, two months before Ingram Micro announced plans for an initial public offering of stock.
In a phone interview Tuesday, his first day on the job, Stead said that if he meets the company’s goals, he’ll eventually wind up with options to buy 2.8% of the Santa Ana-based company’s stock at its initial offering price. The options will vest gradually over a two-year period ending in April 2000.
“That’s a great way to start the new century,” said Stead, who already commands a personal multimillion-dollar fortune.
Terms of his compensation will be added to the company’s securities filing for its planned offering of 20 million shares. Assuming the company gets clearances from securities regulators and the Internal Revenue Service, the company said Tuesday that it will push ahead with plans to sell 20 million shares to the public.
If the offering is priced at the maximum offering level of $14 a share, the company will raise $280 million. An analyst said the company has indicated it plans to begin trying to drum up interest in the offering from institutional investors after Labor Day.
Stead brings top-level management expertise to an industry giant intent on maintaining its lead. He expressed excitement at the chance to run a company like Ingram Micro, which is growing rapidly.
His predecessor, Lacy, built its sales from $2 billion five years ago to $8.6 billion last year. Net income during that time jumped to $84.3 million from $30.2 million.
Stead most recently served for less than a year as chairman and chief executive of software developer Legent Corp. before its acquisition last year by Computer Associates International Inc.
