Swainson shakes things up at CA

Computer Associates International president and CEO-elect John Swainson has reorganised the company's top business units, shuffling two top product executives in the process.

In a memo sent to employees on Friday, Swainson, who joined CA in November and is slated to become chief executive as early as March, said the company will be organised around more autonomous business units. In the new structure, business units will have more control over their development and marketing spending. They will also have more leeway in pursuing acquisitions.

As part of the change, co-founder Russell Artzt will be executive vice president of products, with responsibility for all product development. Artzt, who most recently headed up CA's eTrust security product line, will report to Swainson and will be responsible for all product groups.

Also reporting to Swainson will be Mark Barrenechea, who will take on the new position of executive vice president of technology strategy and chief technology architect. Barrenechea, a former Oracle executive, had been in charge of product development for most of CA's diverse product line.

Barrenechea will help Swainson and chief operating officer Jeff Clarke seek out more acquisitions to build out its product portfolio, Swainson said. The new structure will "ensure that CA is on the forefront of the consolidation trend", he said.

The new organisation recalls the internal structure of IBM, where Swainson worked for 26 years. IBM has a single software group - where Swainson was vice president of worldwide sales - with individual brands within the unit.

When he joined CA last autumn, Swainson, known for being technically astute, said his first order of business was to assess the company's product groups. Founded in 1976, CA has a diverse portfolio of products, ranging from mainframe database to security and management software, several of which were gained through acquisitions.

Martin LaMonica writes for CNET News.com.