Western Digital Names New Chief Executive

Western Digital Corp. named Matthew Massengill president and chief executive as the struggling Irvine-based company turned to its top internal candidate to succeed retiring CEO Charles Haggerty. Massengill, 38, has been with the disk drive manufacturer for 14 years, most recently as chief operating officer. He emerged as the leading in-house candidate after co-Chief Operating Officer Russell Stern resigned in October. The company also said Thomas Pardun, president of MediaOne International-Asia/Pacific and a Western Digital director since 1993, was elected chairman of Western’s board. The news came after markets closed. Western shares fell 25 cents to close at $4.31 on the New York Stock Exchange.