Aliso Viejo-based Quest Software Inc.’s longtime chief Vincent “Vinny” Smith stepped aside Wednesday to make way for Doug Garn, who’s set to be the new chief executive at the maker of business software.
Smith held the post for more than a decade and is set to continue on as chairman.
Garn, who joined Quest 11 years ago, was named president in 2005. Before that, he was the company’s vice president of worldwide sales.
He is set to manage day-to-day operations at Quest, while Smith is set to lead overall strategy and product development.
“Doug has been managing a significant portion of Quest’s operations for several years, and we have made a great team,” Smith said. “With Doug now taking on the responsibilities of CEO, I can completely focus on product direction and strategy issues.”
Quest makes software that improves on or helps manage other business programs from Oracle Corp., Microsoft Corp. and others.
Smith, 44, started his career with Oracle after graduating from the University of Delaware in 1986.
In 1992, he started San Francisco-based Patrol Software with an Oracle colleague. BMC Software Inc. bought Patrol in 1994.
Smith took a seat on the Quest’s board in 1995 and gradually became more involved, becoming chief executive in 1997 and chairman a year later.
Early this year, Quest finished a probe of options backdating with charges to past earnings of about $137 million. The probe covered grants from 1998 to 2005.
Quest’s shares rallied in afterhours trading partly in tandem with other tech stocks that saw gains Wednesday.
The stock rose nearly 12% in afterhours trading on a recent market value of about $1 billion.
It’s likely that investors also were pleased with the orderly transition in Quest’s upper ranks.
A separate announcement from Quest late Wednesday said the company is set to buy back up to $400 million of its outstanding shares.
Wall Street generally likes buy backs because they boost their favorite number,profits expressed on a per share basis.
