Chief Executive of OCZ Resigns from the Company

From X-bit Labs: OCZ Technology Group, a leading maker of solid-state drives, said Monday that its board of Directors has appointed Alex Mei, executive vice president and chief marketing officer as interim chief executive officer as Ryan Petersen resigned from the company. The reasons behind the move were not exactly clear at press time.

"I am very pleased to have transitioned the company from a niche developer, manufacturer, and seller of high-performance DRAM memory modules to a global leader in solid-state storage solutions," said Mr. Petersen.

The exact reasons why Mr. Petersen leaves the company are unclear. OCZ has been growing at a very rapid pace and is currently one of the largest independent maker of solid-state drives. A big problem for OCZ was the fact that it was not profitable for years, even though given very quick transformation into a multi-hundred-million company that was hardly the reason that made investors unhappy.

"I'm honored that the board has selected me to lead OCZ on an interim basis. We have dedicated and talented employees, extremely competitive technology, and product roadmaps that we believe will enable us to continue to provide industry-leading solid state storage solutions to our growing customer base. As one of the longest tenured employees, I've been fortunate to have had a front-row seat to what OCZ's amazing employees are capable of achieving for nearly a decade. I'm confident that our team will continue to execute the core strategies we've previously communicated to investors." said Mr. Mei.

It is necessary to note that Ryan Petersen has managed to transform a pretty much unsuccessful supplier of memory modules and graphics cards into a leading manufacturer of solid-state drives with its own facilities and a set of large-scale customers. Recently market rumours suggested that OCZ could be an acquisition target for Seagate, which has so far failed to establish its presence on the market of SSDs, but the transaction has never happened.

"On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Ryan for his vision and his service to OCZ. Though it perhaps goes without saying, there wouldn't be an OCZ without Ryan, and his contributions to the company and to the DRAM and SSD industries are far too numerous to mention. We wish him and his family the very best for the future. We are fortunate to have someone of Alex Mei's caliber to step in and lead OCZ as Interim CEO. Alex is not only a proven executive who has made significant contributions and provided outstanding leadership to OCZ, his tenure with the company since 2004 helps to ensure continuity until a permanent CEO is hired," said Adam Epstein, OCZ's lead independent director.

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