Western Digital Chairman Tom Pardun To Retire; Massengill Named Successor

(RTTNews) - Hard-drive maker Western Digital Corp (WDC) on Wednesday said its Chairman Tom Pardun will retire in November after more than two decades of service on its board, having reached the mandatory retirement age.

Matthew Massengill, a former chairman and chief executive officer of the company and a director since 2000, will succeed Pardun as chairman, Western Digital said.

The company also said Len Lauer, chairman and CEO of Memjet and a Western Digital director since 2010, has been named lead independent director of its board.

Pardun joined the Western Digital board in 1993. He served two terms as chairman for a total of 10 years and as lead independent director for the six years between his terms as chairman.

Western Digital, popular for its hard drives, has been affected lately by the sluggish sales of PCs; in July, the company reported a lower fourth-quarter profit as demand for PCs waned.