(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Phil Koen has resigned as chief executive officer of Internet infrastructure services provider Savvis (www.savvis.net), leaving James E. Ousley at the helm as interim CEO as the company searches for a replacement for Koen.
Effective as of the close of business on January 8, Koen resigned his positions with the company, according to a company statement. The interim management has hinted that wants a candidate that brings strong sales and marketing capabilities, as well as the ability to drive cloud computing services and form strategic partnerships.
“I joined Savvis in 2006, with the objective to build a better company and to develop a world class team dedicated to meeting and exceeding our customers’ diverse requirements for IT infrastructure services,” Koen said in a statement. “In consultation with our board of directors – and knowing we have a very strong leadership team in place – this is an excellent time for me to move on to a new opportunity and to watch Savvis continue to grow and excel.”
According to research from private equity firm Signal Hill (www.signalhillequity.com), Savvis chose not to renew Koen’s four-year contract, due to expire this March. Despite this, Savvis is positioned well to compete in an increasingly lucrative collocation market if they choose the right leaders.
“Savvis is capitalizing on the fast-growing markets of collocation and managed hosting,” reads Signal Hill’s investment analysis. “The company’s ability to bundle those services with IP transit service provides it with a compelling value proposition. High investment in infrastructure, especially data center space, should stimulate growth over the next several years. However, margins for IP transit, Savvis’ largest product by revenue, are declining. Competition within the collocation market is intensifying and competitors are growing in strength. In addition, the company has had management turnover. As a result, Savvis has a compelling growth opportunity but its execution risk is high.”
Taking place for Koen, Ousley has served as a Savvis director since April 2002 and as non-executive chairman since May 2006. In 2001, he co-founded Vytek Wireless Corporation, where he was president, CEO and a director until 2004. In addition, Ousley previously served as CEO and president of Syntegra and held the same titles Control Data Systems.
“The board is grateful to Phil for his service to the company, particularly during these challenging economic times,” Ousley said in a statement. “Phil built a solid foundation for Savvis, as he transformed it into an IT infrastructure services company with a dedicated focus on cloud computing. He helped put in place a strong, experienced and stable management team and a strategic vision for the future, which we plan to expand on in 2010.”
