Arris, a top supplier of broadband and video gear to the cable and telecom industries, said its board has appointed Bruce McClelland as the company’s new CEO, effective Sept. 1, 2016.
McClelland, who is also joining the Arris board, succeeds long-time company CEO Bob Stanzione, who has been appointed executive chairman of Arris. Stanzione will continue to serve as chairman of the board at Arris.
Stanzione will continue to serve as chairman of the board. In his new role, Stanzione will focus on strategic planning and customer engagement while also supporting McClelland in his new CEO role. Stanzione is the founding president and CEO of Arris Interactive, a joint venture of Nortel Networks and Antec that was created in 1995. Antec bought out Nortel’s position in the J.V. in 2000 and went forward with the Arris name.
The shifts up top are coming into play about nine months after Arris salted away its $2.1 billion acquisition of U.K.-based Pace plc, cementing Arris’s position as the world’s largest maker of set-top boxes. Arris, again with Stanzione at the helm, began to add true scale, expand market share and broaden its international presence when it acquired Motorola Home in April 2013 for $2.35 billion.
Arris said the appointment of McClelland followed a formal CEO succession process started in early 2016 by the board. The Arris board retained the firm of Spencer Stuart to assist with an "extensive search process."
Arris ultimately did not have to look very far.
McClelland, currently president, network and cloud and global services, is a vet of Arris and the industry. He joined Arris in 1999 as vice president of engineering, and later being upped to roles that include group president for products and services and GM of Arris’s customer premises equipment division. Prior to Arris, McClelland spent 11 years at Nortel Networks/Bell Northern Research (BNR), and sarted his career with BNR in Ottawa, Canada, where he was key to the development of Nortel's SS7 switching products. McClelland has a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Saskatchewan.
McClelland has also been tied to the FCC’s pursuit of controversial new set-top box rules aimed at spurring a retail market for video devices that can support MVPD services. He served on the Downloadable Security Technology Advisory Committee (DSTAC), an FCC-appointed group that provided the Commission with multiple, potential paths toward a post-CableCARD world for cable operators and other types of MVPDs.
"Since its formation, ARRIS has grown from a small joint venture to a global leader in entertainment and communications technology," Bob Stanzione, said in a statement. "With integration efforts from the Pace acquisition substantially complete, now is the right time to transition the role of CEO to a new leader who will continue ARRIS's growth and success. Bruce has played an integral role in transforming the Company since he joined the ARRIS Interactive Joint Venture more than 16 years ago. He will provide leadership and strategic vision to keep ARRIS and our customers ahead of today's rapid pace of change and will ensure we remain at the forefront of tomorrow's connected world."
"It is often said that a company takes on the personality of the CEO, and ARRIS is a perfect example of this adage,” McClelland added. “Bob Stanzione's relentless focus on 'Customer First' has become the motto for the company," said Bruce McClelland. "His belief in the people of ARRIS and his tireless drive to innovate and to exceed customer expectation has led ARRIS to where it is today. Our 'on demand, always connected' society will continue to fuel exponential Internet traffic growth, and ARRIS is in a strong position to continue to grow and deliver results for our employees, shareholders and customers. I am honored to have the opportunity to lead the ARRIS team at this exciting time in our history, and I look forward to continuing this tradition of commitment."
