As has been expected, Computer Associates International (CA) named President and Chief Executive Officer-elect John Swainson officially to those posts and said Wednesday that he also will continue as president.

Swainson was hired by CA in November 2004 after spending 26 years at IBM, and will take over at CA from Kenneth Cron, who has served as interim chief executive officer (CEO) since April of last year. Swainson, 50, already has made changes at CA, which is based in Islandia, New York, and coming out of a turbulent period. An accounting scandal has led to the ouster of the top management team and criminal charges against a number of executives.

Former CEO Sanjay Kumar left CA last year, before being indicted in connection with an accounting scheme in which CA prematurely booked US$2.2 billion in revenue in 2000 and 2001. Kumar has pleaded not guilty to charges of securities fraud and obstruction of justice.

Swainson has "quickly displayed an impressive knowledge" of CA and its products "and his industry background is a tremendous asset," company Chairman Lewis Ranieri said in a statement announcing that Swainson has officially been named president and CEO. Ranieri also praised Cron for leading CA through the first months of getting itself straightened out.