The shakeup in BigBand Networks' executive ranks continued Friday with the announcement that vice president of finance Ravi Narula will become chief financial officer effect May 1, when current CFO Moe Castonguay will leave the company and return "to the East Coast full time."
The announcement came a day after BigBand announced the resignation of COO David Heard and senior vice president of worldwide sales Sean Rooney. In addition, the company said CEO Amir Bassan-Eskenazi would give up the chairman role, which will be assumed by cable industry veteran Mike Pohl.
Bassan-Eskenazi, in an interview, said all of the changes in the executive ranks were designed to make BigBand more "nimble and agile" in going after new market opportunities.
"We basically eliminated two positions [COO Heard and SVP of sales Rooney] and brought the management closer to the customers," Bassan-Eskenazi said. "We felt that it was the right thing to do."
According to BigBand regulatory filings, Heard -- who serve as a consultant to the company through June 30, 2010 -- will receive $142,500 severance and continued health benefits through March 31, 2011. Castonguay will receive $120,000 severance and continued health benefits through March 31, 2011.
Pohl, who has served on BigBand's board since May 2009, will receive and additional annual retainer of $25,000 and was awarded 10,000 restricted stock units that will vest in equal quarterly installments over 12 months, according to BigBand regulatory filings. Pohl, a former Arris executive, is currently CEO of Jinni, a startup that has developed a content-discovery system based on moods and emotions.
Narula, before he joined BigBand in 2005, was director of financial governance at Borland Software. He also served in various financial roles at Deloitte & Touche.
A recent executive BigBand hire was Rajive Dhar, formerly head of corporate strategy and planning at Arris, who is now senior vice president of corporate development and strategic planning.
Asked whether Dhar is specifically exploring mergers or acquisitions, Bassan-Eskenazi commented, "He's already adding a great deal of value. I don't have much to say except our usual answer, which is we definitely believe some of the opportunities in front will enable us to make smart moves... if and when that happens."
