CA Faces Another Proxy Battle

If elected, Ranger's slate of five candidates intends to seek the ouster of CA Chairman Charles Wang, President and CEO Sanjay Kumar and Executive Vice President and CFO Ira Zar in order to improve CA's financial performance, said Stephen Perkins, president of Dallas-based Ranger and one of Ranger's nominees, in a proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission late last month.

Wyly's firm, which last summer lost a caustic battle for four CA board seats, plans to challenge the seats held by Wang, Kumar and three other directors.

Despite the latest turmoil, solution providers praised CA for its April launch of a channel-preferred sales model around its storage products, a strategy it has pledged to implement across other product lines if it proves successful.

"I think CA has really built a commitment to its channel organization and its direct-sales organization for success, and now people just need to get out of the way and let us sell," said Michelle Drolet, CEO of Conqwest, a Holliston, Mass., solution provider.

Since last year's proxy fight, CA has taken steps to improve both partner and customer relationships through the development of advisory councils, said David Hall, CTO and senior vice president of CompuCom, a Dallas-based solution provider.

"I have a lot of faith in the management team they have in place. I'm very happy with them," he said.

Several of CA's largest shareholders have also voiced support for the incumbent board members.

However, CA has had its share of setbacks over the past year, including the launch of a federal investigation into its accounting practices by the SEC and the U.S. Attorney's Office in February, and the lowering of its debt rating by Moody's Investors Service in March.

As a result, CA shares have dipped dramatically in recent months, giving up about half of their value since January.

CA's annual shareholders' meeting is scheduled for Aug. 28.