Symantec board ousts CEO

Security giant Symantec has confirmed the departure of its president and chief executive, Enrique Salem, after posting a "solid" set of first quarter financial results.

Salem's role at the firm has been filled by Steve Bennett, who became the chairman of the Symantec board in 2011.

In a statement, Bennett said Salem had made a significant contribution to Symantec in his three years as CEO, but the board of directors felt a change at the top was necessary.

"My view is that Symantec's assets are strong and yet the company is underperforming against the opportunity," said Bennett.

Dan Schulman, Symantec's newly-appointed lead director, added: "The board's decision to make a leadership change was not based on any particular event or impropriety, but was made after ongoing consideration and a deliberative process."

News of the senior management changes comes on the same day Symantec posted its first quarter financial results.

The firm banked a GAAP revenue of $1.6 billion during the three months to June, which was 1 per cent higher than the same quarter last year.

The firm's GAAP net income fell from $191 million in Q1 2012 to $172 million this year. "Variation in year-over-year GAAP results were...due to increases in restructuring costs and IT infrastructure investments," explained the company in a statement.

Bennett said the firm had delivered "another solid quarter" based on the success of its investments in cloud and mobility technologies.

"We are making progress on many fronts, but believe we can further accelerate the company's value to employees," Bennett added.