In a brief interview, Symantec’s incoming CEO Enrique Salem outlines his upcoming move from COO to CEO in April 2009, emphasizing the need for speed and impatience during a challenging economic climate. He reflects on his experience navigating the dot‑com boom and bust as Brightmail’s CEO, positioning him to handle the current downturn. Salem outlines a dual focus on tightening internal costs—right‑sizing staff, scrutinizing P&L lines such as sales, marketing, and engineering—to improve the bottom line, while simultaneously investing in growth areas. He signals an opportunistic acquisition strategy, looking for well‑priced targets that promise strong returns, and cites the recent acquisition of MessageLabs as a catalyst for accelerating Symantec’s entry into the SaaS market. By integrating MessageLabs with the Symantec Protection Network, Salem plans to expand services like archiving and data loss prevention, reinforcing security as a non‑discretionary, indispensable product for customers. The interview underscores that investors will closely monitor how these cost‑control measures and SaaS initiatives translate into performance once Salem assumes the CEO role.
