Kodak Names Jeff Clarke as New CEO

The Eastman Kodak Co. board of directors elected Jeffrey J. Clarke as CEO and board member.

“Jeff is the right person to lead Kodak forward,” said James V. Continenza, Kodak's chairman of the board. "His combination of strengths and experience in technology, transformation, finance, operations and international business is precisely what we set out to find in the next leader of Kodak. …The board evaluated many highly qualified and talented people during the search, but it was clear to all of us that Jeff was the one we wanted. We feel extremely confident about Kodak’s prospects with Jeff at the helm."

Clarke, 52, replaces Antonio M. Perez, who now serves as a special adviser to the board.

“I have enormous respect for the people of Kodak, and I am excited to join them in moving the company forward to new successes," Clarke said. "This enterprise has some extraordinary opportunities, especially those presented by the company’s proprietary technology in commercial printing, packaging and functional printing. Kodak has made excellent progress, building on one of the most successful reorganizations in recent years, and I look forward to continuing the work underway in transforming Kodak into a global B2B technology leader.

“My first priority is to spend my time listening to Kodak’s employees, customers, partners and other stakeholders as part of a detailed evaluation of our operations, market opportunities and approach for success. Once that work is complete, I look forward to sharing our conclusions.”

Clarke, who earned his bachelor's in economics from SUNY Geneseo and a master's in business administration from Northeastern University, served in management roles in international operations, finance and manufacturing at Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC) starting in 1985. In 1998, he became Compaq Computer's chief financial officer after Compaq and DEC merged. From 2002 to 2003, he became Hewlett-Packard Co.'s executive vice president of global operations, overseeing HP's worldwide supply chain, manufacturing, procurement and Internet operations as well as co-leading HP and Compaq's merger.