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Veritas CFO leaves on MBA lie

The software maker says that former CFO Kenneth E. Lonchar falsely claimed to have received an MBA from Stanford University.

Margaret Kane Former Staff writer, CNET News
Margaret is a former news editor for CNET News, based in the Boston bureau.
Margaret Kane
2 min read
The chief financial officer of Veritas Software has left the company after it was revealed that he had false credentials on his resume.

Mountain View, Calif.-based Veritas said Thursday that former CFO Kenneth E. Lonchar falsely claimed to have received an MBA from Stanford University. He is being replaced on an interim basis by Jay A. Jones, senior vice president, chief administrative officer and former general counsel. Veritas said it expects to name a new CFO by the end of the year.

"While Ken's misstatement about his academic credentials is unfortunate, it has no bearing on the accuracy of our financial results or the quality of our financial procedures and controls," CEO Gary Bloom said in a statement.

Separately, Veritas said that it expects results for the third quarter, which ended Monday, to fall within previously announced guidance. Veritas, which makes storage software, said it expects revenue of $350 million to $370 million and pro forma earnings per share of 11 cents to 13 cents, based on an operating margin of 21 percent to 23 percent.

Veritas has been working on restructuring its upper management as it struggles with the slowdown in technology spending that has affected many hardware and software companies.

The news has already affected Veritas' stock, which dropped 15 percent in morning trading to $12.25. Daniel Renouard, a Robert W. Baird & Co. analyst, lowered his rating on the stock from "outperform" to "neutral," saying that between the IT spending slump and the CFO news, "the stock will have difficulty sustaining a rally."