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3Com names new CEO

by on30 April 2008

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CEO will be China-based


U.S.-owned networking giant, 3Com has announced that it has named a new CEO who will be based in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC).  Robert Mao is the new CEO named to replace former CEO, Edgar Masri.  Mao is a former executive from Nortel Networks and has been with 3Com since 2006 as Executive Vice President of Corporate Development. 3Com is retaining its long-time executive, Ron Sege, as President and COO.

3Com has struggled to compete against Cisco Systems and previously formed a joint venture with PRC network Huawei to develop and build products in PRC for both the Chinese and worldwide markets. Under Edgar Masri’s leadership 3Com bought out the shares of Huawei in the joint venture, but at that time it was not sufficient to put 3Com in a dominant position in the China marketplace. Then Huawei and the Hong Kong branch of U.S. venture capitalists Bain Capital, attempted to purchase 3Com, but the sale of 3Com (the network manufacturer of technology used by the U.S. military and U.S. government) to a PRC entity raised the hackles of the U.S. Congress, and the sale was put on hold. Congress voiced concerns that one of the principal owners of Huawei is a former PRC military officer with ties to the Red Army and that the technology applications used by the U.S. government and military should not be owned by a foreign entity.

The ownership of 3Com remains unchanged. Mao will focus on operations within China, while Sege will be located in the U.S. and focus on 3Com operations outside China.

Last modified on 30 April 2008
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