It's Official: Swainson Takes Over As CA CEO

The move marks an early close to a transition period initially expected to last four to six months, during which Swainson reported to outgoing interim CEO Kenneth Cron.

"John [Swainson] has quickly displayed an impressive knowledge of the company and its technologies, and his industry background is a tremendous asset," said CA Chairman Lewis Ranieri in a statement.

Swainson, a 26-year IBM veteran, is widely credited for the success of IBM's WebSphere product. He led the worldwide sales organization for IBM's software group and was general manager of the company's application integration and middleware group.

In a recent interview with CRN, Swainson said CA's channel partners could be a key to extending the Islandia, N.Y.-based company's reach beyond enterprise customers. "We've only started to really explore the use of the channel to reach markets. ... There's huge potential there," he said in the interview.

CA began its search for a new CEO in April after Sanjay Kumar stepped down as chairman and CEO amid fallout from an accounting scandal. In September, Kumar was indicted on securities fraud and other charges.

Cron will continue as a CA director, a position he has held since 2002. Cron is a former president of CMP Media, which publishes CRN.

DAN NEEL contributed to this story.