The SCO Group said Wednesday that it has replaced its chief financial officer, moving the former top financial executive into a temporary position as head of corporate development.
Bert Young has been appointed chief financial officer of the Lindon, Utah-based UNIX software vendor. Young takes on the CFO job from Bob Bench, who has been in that role since November 2002.
Prior to joining SCO, Young was vice president and CFO for LANDesk Software, a vendor of desktop and device management applications that was spun off from Intel as a venture-funded private company in September, 2002. Young also served as CFO for Talk2 Technology and Whittman-Hart, both private companies.
SCO’s CEO Darl McBride said Young will help make operations more efficient. “His years of experience in all facets of worldwide operations will enhance our current management team,” McBride said in a statement.
Bench has now been assigned as acting vice president of corporate development, focusing on external growth and industry partnerships. He plans to retire when the company finds a permanent hire.
McBride said the management changes would help the company develop its current product lines and acquire additional technologies through partnerships and acquisitions.
The management shift comes days after investors called back about $20 million of a $50 million investment on the basis that SCO breached an investment agreement. The letter issued by BayStar Capital II requests that SCO immediately redeem BayStar’s 20,000 shares of SCO’s Series A-1 Convertible Preferred Stock. The shares have a face value of one thousand dollars.
SCO, which is in a Linux-related lawsuit against IBM , exchanged the preferred stock in connection with its $50 million private financing completed in October 2003 for a new series of preferred stock.
