Unlike some executive sendoffs that avoid the departing elephant in the room, Sclavos received some unsolicited kudos today from the VeriSign board. "I want to thank Stratton for all he accomplished while at the company the last 12 years," Mueller said in an opening statement during the briefing. "He established us as a global corporation that millions of businesses rely on every day."
Industry analysts say the move was likely a way for VeriSign to appear to be moving ahead despite the ongoing investigation. "It's more symbolic," says Brenon Daly, a financial analyst with the 451 Group. "There was the sense that this was just dragging [on and on]. Showing that the Board is decisive, cleaning [things] up, and giving the perception of moving ahead."
Daly says Sclavos was the face for VeriSign's biggest moves, including the deal to purchase Network Solutions Inc. several years ago, as well as several acquisitions at a time when "roll-ups weren't popular," he says. "The quick take is he's been such a lightning rod for criticism as the face of VeriSign, so his high profile was probably essentially a distraction," Daly says.
But Sclavos seemed to take it all in stride, Daly says. "He understood being the face of this business was going to attract some arrows."
Although he's so far been exonerated by VeriSign in its investigation -- as Steve Jobs was exonerated by Apple during its stock option investigation -- Sclavos didn't get to keep his job, as Jobs did. "Steve Jobs was the golden boy -- he had the Hollywood story of resurrecting the beloved Apple," Daly says.
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