Business Objects snags Symantec exec for new CEO

Business Objects has named John Schwarz, former president of Symantec, to be its new chief executive officer, the software maker announced Monday.

In a conference call Sunday, Schwarz said he had not been looking to leave Symantec but that the opportunity to lead a company that had just broken the billion-dollar revenue mark was too attractive to resist, according to a replay of the call.

The move was apparently a swift one. As of Monday morning, the Symantec Web site still listed Schwarz as president. A spokesman for Symantec in Europe had no comment.

Business Objects founder Bernard Liautaud will continue to serve as chairman of the board and will take on new duties as chief strategy officer going forward.

Business Objects earned revenue of $511 million during the first half of this year, up 16 percent from the same period a year earlier.

“Now is the time to build on that momentum and take Business Objects to the next level,” Liautaud said during Sunday’s conference call.

Business Objects develops business intelligence software that helps companies analyze and make sense of large amounts of corporate data.

Schwarz is known for executing the merger of Symantec and Veritas. It is too early to say if he’s planning another blockbuster merger at Business Objects, he said, but he did say that acquisitions are likely.

“Business Objects has grown organically and through acquisitions and I don’t expect that modus operandi will change,” he said on Sunday’s call.

While Business Objects is substantially smaller than Symantec, Schwarz said he looked forward to the responsibilities attached to being CEO and the opportunity to grow his new company.

Both Liautaud and Schwarz talked of their desire to grow Business Objects into one of the top 10 global independent software businesses. The company currently ranks about twentieth.