Jure Sola spent 26 years atop Sanmina as chairman, president and eventually CEO. His replacement lasted less than 12 months.
In a stunning announcement, Sanmina today announced the resignation of Bob Eulau as chief executive. The move is effective immediately.
Eulau was handpicked to replace Sola as chief executive of Sanmina, a move that took effect last October. At the time, Sola gushed over his successor’s abilities, stating “Bob has a deep understanding of Sanmina’s strategy, customer focus, technology offerings and day-to-day execution. I am confident we’ve selected a strong leader. Bob’s wealth of experience and strong leadership are invaluable to the strategic direction of Sanmina and are precisely what Sanmina needs for a successful future.”
What changed in a year? Often, quick changes like this are tied to financial issues or disagreements with the board over direction. Sanmina was quick to reaffirm financial guidance for its current quarter, and is on pace to surpass last fiscal year’s revenue total. At the low end of guidance, the EMS firm will top $7.1 billion, about 3% more than the prior fiscal year. In its most recent earnings call, Eulau forecast increasing margins and yield improvements.
Michael Clarke, another Sanmina alum and a current board member, will take over come Oct. 1.