Multiscreen video software specialist SeaChange International said it has made changes to its board of directors, including the naming of a new chairman and the appointment of two members, “in response to shareholder feedback.”
William Markey, the company said, has been named chairman of the board, and previous chairman, Steven Craddock, “has decided to retire from the Board.”
Markey, formerly a director of the SeaChange board, is also president of Relevant C Business Group (RCBG), a private consulting firm he founded in 2002, and is a co-founder of Ucentric Systems, a software company acquired by Motorola in 2005.
Joining the SeaChange board are Mark Bonney and Andy Sriubas.
SeaChange said Bonney is “in independent director with substantial experience in turn-around and merger and acquisition situations,” and that his appointment follows an agreement with one of SeaChange’s largest shareholders, VIEX Capital Advisors.
Sriubas, who started his career with Citibank, has been an advisor to the SeaChange board since May 2016, and has chaired the company’s Advisory Board that works with the management team on strategic and technology matters, SeaChange said.
Bonney’s appointment will be presented to shareholders for a vote at the company's 2018 annual meeting, and Sriubas' appointment will be presented for a vote at the company's annual meeting in 2019.
The board-level changes come a few weeks after a SeaChange investor, Roumell Asset Management, scolded the board for the SeaChange’s “poor operating results and weakened balance sheet” and urged the board to pursue a sale of the company. SeaChange, now under new CEO Ed Terino, is in the middle of a restructuring that aims to return the company to profitability.
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“We are very pleased to have strengthened our board with the addition of Mark and Andy, both of whom bring skillsets that we believe will be important to enabling SeaChange to continue its transformation and growth within the evolving media marketplace,” Markey said in a statement. “Being responsive to our shareholders is important, and I appreciate that we have developed a constructive relationship with Eric Singer at VIEX as part of this effort…At the same time, we are grateful to Steve [Craddock] for his five-years of service on the board of SeaChange, and his many contributions in assisting in the company’s progress.”
"I believe the actions the SeaChange board has taken around reconstitution will ensure the best governance framework to support the company's progress in achieving higher value for all shareholders," Singer added.
