Tewksbury, Mass. - Avid Technology Inc. announced that Gary Greenfield has been named chairman of the board and chief executive officer (CEO) effective immediately. Greenfield succeeds Nancy Hawthorne, who has served as interim CEO since August 1 and will assume the role of lead director on the company’s Board.
“As Avid continues to evolve and help our customers meet new challenges in the dynamic digital media marketplace, we sought a leader who had direct experience in helping complex and multi-dimensional public companies achieve their goals,” says Hawthorne. “Gary is an outstanding choice to lead the company into a new era of growth.”
“Avid has a rich 20-year history as a vibrant and innovative technology pioneer, whose family of brands stands at the forefront of technology for the digital media and entertainment industries— that’s what made the opportunity to join the company so attractive. I believe Avid can become a true media powerhouse and I am excited to lead that charge,” says Greenfield.
Greenfield has been CEO of GXS since 2003, a leading worldwide provider of business-to-business integration, synchronization, and collaboration solutions. Since December 2003, he has also been an operating partner with Francisco Partners, a technology-focused private equity firm. Previously, he served as CEO of Peregrine Systems where he managed the restructuring of their business; president and CEO of MERANT; and while CEO of INTERSOLV, they merged with Micro Focus to form MERANT. He has experience growing businesses both organically and through acquisition, managing development, marketing, and operations, and serving diverse customers from small businesses to the Fortune 500.
As part of Greenfield’s compensation package, Avid granted to him an option to purchase 725,000 shares of Avid’s common stock and issued 100,000 shares of restricted stock. The option has a seven-year term and an exercise price equal to the last sale price of Avid’s common stock on December 19, 2007, the date of the option grant.