Western Digital

Completing a long-anticipated move, Western Digital Corp. has elected Thomas E. Pardun chairman of the Irvine hard-drive maker. Pardun, 56, replaces Chuck Haggerty, 58, who retired from the board but will continue as chairman of Western Digital subsidiaries Connex and SageTree. Western Digital said in January that Pardun, a director since 1993, would become chairman once the pending merger of MediaOne Group Inc. and AT&T; Corp. was complete. Pardun was president of MediaOne International’s Asia/Pacific division.

For six years, Haggerty guided Western Digital, one of the world’s largest disk-drive makers, through periods of explosive growth and a devastating slump. He said last summer that he would retire as chairman, president and chief executive. Matthew E. Massengill, 39, took over in January as president and CEO.