Jeff Clarke steps in as Kodak's CEO
The board of directors of Eastman Kodak, on March 12, 2014, has elected Jeff Clarke as the chief executive officer for its operations. Clarke will also be a member of Kodak’s board of directors.
22 Mar 2014 | By Anand Srinivasan
“Jeff is the right person to lead Kodak forward. His combination of strengths and experience in technology, transformation, finance, operations, and international business is precisely what we set out to find in the next leader of Kodak. His past leadership positions have included businesses selling hardware, software and services, and printing, with B2B customers as well as consumers," said James Continenza, chairman of the board.
“The board evaluated many highly qualified and talented people during the search, but it was clear to all of us that Jeff was the one we wanted. We feel extremely confident about Kodak’s prospects with Jeff at the helm,” he added.
Clarke, 52, said, “I have enormous respect for the people of Kodak, and I am excited to join them in moving the company forward to new successes. This enterprise has some extraordinary opportunities, especially those presented by the company’s proprietary technology in commercial printing, packaging and functional printing. Kodak has made excellent progress, building on one of the most successful reorganizations in recent years, and I look forward to continuing the work underway in transforming Kodak into a global B2B technology leader.”
“My first priority is to spend my time listening to Kodak’s employees, customers, partners and other stakeholders as part of a detailed evaluation of our operations, market opportunities and approach for success,” continued Clarke. “Once that work is complete, I look forward to sharing our conclusions.”
Antonio Perez, the ex-CEO of the company and now a special advisor to the board, said, “Jeff Clarke is a talented and proven executive who is well qualified to lead Kodak through our next era, which I believe will be one of innovation and growth. I am excited about the next chapter in the future of this great.”
Jeff Clarke, an MBA graduate and a Bachelor in Economics has held prestigious posts at companies like Augusta Columbia Capital (ACC), has been the chairman of Travelport, COO at CA inc., vice president at Hewlett Packard (HP).