Management shakeup at SCO

The Santa Cruz Operation, the maker of Unix systems, has named cofounder and executive vice president Doug Michels as chief executive officer, succeeding Alok Mohan, who will stay on as chairman.

The management shakeup comes as SCO faces stiff competition and its stock price has been in a slump. SCO's revenue for the second fiscal quarter, ended March 31, fell to $50.5 million from $54.1 million for the like quarter a year earlier. Net profits rose, however, to $3.2 million, 9 cents per share, from $974,000, or 3 cents per share.

"My decision to leave the position of president and CEO of such a well-positioned and market-leading company for family reasons was not an easy one," Mohan said in a statement. "I am pleased that Doug Michels has agreed to accept my former post. I am confident in Doug's abilities and look forward to working closely with him and his management team in my new role as chairman."

The company also said it realigned its executive management team to strengthen its sales, marketing, and corporate development.

"We are delighted about the market's initial response to our UnixWare 7 and Tarantella products and firmly believe that this reorganization will allow SCO to best exploit their potential in serving both our current and future customers," Michels said. "I am pleased that Alok has agreed to stay with SCO as chairman."

Michels, 44, is an 18-year veteran with the company. SCO's stock closed at 4-3/8 yesterday, unchanged. It has traded as high as 7-1/4 and as low as 3-1/8 in the past 52 weeks. The management shakeup was announced after the market closed.

In January, SCO warned analysts that its first quarter results would fall below expectations.