Rochester, NY—The board of directors of Eastman Kodak Company elected Jeffrey J. Clarke, 52, as chief executive officer and a member of its board of directors, succeeding Antonio Perez.
“Jeff is the right person to lead Kodak forward. 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. His past leadership positions have included businesses selling hardware, software and services, and printing—with B2B customers as well as consumers. 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,” said James V. Continenza, chairman of the board. “I thank Antonio Perez for his excellent leadership of Kodak through its complex and successful restructuring, and for solidifying our relationships with our valued customers since that time.”
Prior to joining Kodak, Clarke was a managing partner of Augusta Columbia Capital, a private investment firm focused on middle market technology and technology-enabled businesses that he cofounded in 2012. Previously, he was chairman of Travelport, Inc., a private travel technology firm, where he served as CEO from 2006–2011. During his tenure, Travelport successfully launched an IPO for its Orbitz business. Clarke was also an executive vice president of Global Operations at Hewlett-Packard Company from 2002–2003 and co-led HP’s merger with Compaq Computer. Clarke will continue to serve as chairman of Orbitz Worldwide, a global online travel agency.
“I have enormous respect for the people of Kodak, and I am excited to join them in moving the company forward to new successes,” said Clarke. “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.”
Antonio M. Perez, now special advisor to the board, commented: “Jeff Clarke is a talented and proven executive who is well qualified to lead Kodak through our next era, which I believe will be one of innovation and growth. I am excited about the next chapter in the future of this great company.” kodak.com
