Service level management company Micromuse Inc is looking for a new president and CEO following a decision by founder Chris Dawes to step down from day to day operations. Dawes will stay on as chairman and remain a director of the company. CFO Stephen Allot becomes president and director while the search takes place through executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles. Micromuse is a very different company from the one Chris Dawes founded in the UK seven years ago as a Sparc systems builder and Sun reseller. The recently public company now concentrates on its Netcool service level management software aimed at telecommunications companies, ISPs and large corporates. Separately, the company’s Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to 1,500,000 shares, approximately 9% of the company’s outstanding common stock, saying it believed its share price to be undervalued. Micromuse priced its initial IPO in February at $12, but saw the price shoot up to a high of $41 in July. It later dropped to a low of $8. On Friday, shares rose 11.6% on the previous day to reach $15.
