November 25, 1996 1:00 PM ET
Former Apple exec Yocam takes the reins at Borland
By Maria Seminerio

Delbert Yocam, onetime chief operating officer at Apple Computer Inc. and former president of hardware developer Tektronix Inc., has been named chairman and CEO of struggling Borland International Inc., company officials said today. The 52-year-old executive, who spent four years at Apple before being named president and COO of Tektronix, in Wilsonville, Ore., in 1992, was picked for his management knowledge and experience with product launches, according to William Miller, outgoing chairman of Borland's board of directors. "Del brings to Borland the management experience we have been aggressively seeking to lead the company and accelerate its transformation," Miller said. The development tools maker has three product launches planned for the next six months, and Yocam will be instrumental in shepherding the new tools to market, Miller said. Borland, in Scotts Valley, Calif., has been plagued by earnings losses and a steady stream of executive departures in recent months. Miller had served as acting CEO after Gary Wetsel resigned that post in August shortly before the company announced it would report a substantial operating loss for its first quarter. Borland lost $14.1 million during that quarter on sales of $34.5 million. Vice President and Chief Financial Officer David Mullin resigned in August and was replaced in September by Paul Emery II. In October the company announced it had lost $9.8 million as sales plummeted 29 percent in its second fiscal quarter. However, the company's 31 cent-per-share loss was better than Wall Street had estimated. On Oct. 16, Borland announced plans to cut its head count by about 15 percent, or 125 employees. Also in October Anders Hejlsberg, who led development of Borland's Delphi tool, announced plans to leave the company. Hejlsberg will begin working at Microsoft Corp. in January, joining Paul Gross, who left the post of vice president of R&D; at Borland in September. Copyright(c) 1996 Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Ziff-Davis Publishing Company is prohibited. PC Week and the PC Week logo are trademarks of Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. PC Week Online and the PC Week Online logo are trademarks of Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. Send mail to PC Week