When Progress Software CEO Richard Reidy told me in December about a “major transition” and a “whole new strategy” for the company, he wasn’t kidding. The transition, it turns out, involves himself.
Bedford, MA-based Progress (NASDAQ: [[ticker:PRGS]]) announced today that Reidy will leave the company once a successor is named; a search is under way. He has been CEO since March 2009 and will continue in that role (and as a board member) until his departure date. He originally joined Progress back in 1981.
Reidy (pronounced “reedy”) presided over the company’s shift from selling many different kinds of business software to focusing on helping businesses be more responsive to market events in real time and manage their transactions efficiently. Progress stock rose fairly steadily from September 2010 until February of this year; the recent trend has been downward, but with some ups.
The company “has undergone a profound and successful transformation over the past few years,” Reidy said in a statement. “We have repositioned and refocused the company in exciting new high growth areas and are executing well. New leadership will help accelerate our strategy going forward.”
We’ll update this story if we get more details about Reidy’s plans and the reasons for the move.
Author: Gregory T. Huang
Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003.
Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
View all posts by Gregory T. Huang