CA appoints IBM exec as new chief executive

WebSphere creator John Swainson gets CA top job

Troubled software company Computer Associates has appointed IBM's John Swainson as its new chief executive.

Swainson, former head of IBM's software sales group, will assume responsibility from interim CEO Ken Cron who took over when Sanjay Kumar stepped down amid an accounting scandal.

Kumar was later charged with criminal securities fraud.

Swainson has been at IBM for 26 years and is best known as the creator of IBM's middleware technology WebSphere, and headed the WebSphere division until he was promoted in July.

It is understood that he resigned from IBM last Friday.

Computer Associates has been embroiled in a turbulent couple of years and will be keen for Swainson to set it on a more sustained path.

Swainson will also be made president at Computer Associates, while Lewis Ranieri will continue as chairman.

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