Who Is Kodak’s New Ceo Industry Veteran Jeff Clarke?
Kodak Names Tech Veteran as CEO
By Michael Calia
Eastman Kodak Co. named tech industry veteran Jeff Clarke its new chief executive as the stripped-down former photo giant presses on with its reinvention.
Mr. Clarke, 52 years old, will also continue to serve as the chairman of online travel company Orbitz Worldwide Inc., a role he has held since 2007.
Mr. Clarke previously worked as an executive with Hewlett-Packard Co., where he helped integrate Compaq Computer Corp., and he co-founded the tech-focused investment firm Augusta Columbia Capital in 2012.
The move comes as Kodak, a name synonymous with the fading industry of film-based photography, seeks to achieve new relevance in a digital world. The company emerged from Chapter 11 restructuring in September with a focus on commercial imaging.
This enterprise has some extraordinary opportunities, especially those presented by the company’s proprietary technology in commercial printing, packaging and functional printing, Mr. Clarke said. Kodak has made excellent progress, building on one of the most successful reorganizations in recent years, and I look forward to continuing the work under way in transforming Kodak into a global B2B technology leader.
Mr. Clarke replaces Antonio M. Perez, who is now a special adviser to Kodaks board.
Mr. Perez, himself a former Hewlett-Packard executive, took over as Kodaks chief in 2005, and spent much of his time in the role fighting the company’s decline with a focus on commercial printing.
His strategy to raise cash with a series of patent lawsuits and licensing deals stalled in 2011, the year before the companys bankruptcy filing.
The company recently said it would cease production of process-free Sonora printing plates at its Leeds, U.K., plant by next year, with plans to find a site in the Americas. It has also invested in upgrades at other plants in Germany and China.
Excluding discontinued operations and items related to the reorganization, the Rochester, N.Y., company in November posted a loss for its first quarter since ending the bankruptcy process.
Separately on Wednesday, federal prosecutors in New York said they had reached a settlement with Kodak to resolve the companys environmental liabilities at sites in New York and New Jersey.
Under the agreement, Kodak committed to fund a cleanup trust with $49 million and potentially more if costs exceed $99 million.
A Kodak representative wasn’t immediately available to comment on the settlement.