Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) on Thursday added Stephen J. Luczo, the
chairman and chief executive of hard-drive maker Seagate Technology
PLC (STX) as its newest director.
The software giant also said current director John Thompson,
chief executive of privately held Vitrual Instruments, will replace
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) Chief Executive Reed Hastings on the board's
compensation committee, while naming Luczo to its audit
committee.
Luczo, 55 years old, has served on Seagate's board since 2000.
He was named chairman of the company in 2002 and has held the
president and CEO positions since 2009.
Microsoft has been expanding its footprint into a variety of
sectors over the past year as the line between the software and
hardware sectors becomes increasingly blurry. The company most
recently paid 300 million for a 17.6% stake in Barnes & Noble's
Inc. (BKS) Nook digital-reader business and its college-bookstore
business.
Seagate has benefited this year as pent-up demand pushes up
prices for its hard drives. Severe flooding in Thailand knocked out
a significant amount of the world's production capacity, though
Seagate was relatively unscathed.
Microsoft shares were recently off 11 cents at $31.69 Thursday,
while Seagate was down 3.7% at $31.02 amid a broad market
downturn.
-By Drew FitzGerald, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2909; Andrew.FitzGerald@dowjones.com