Motorola Exec Leaving For CEO PostMotorola Exec Leaving For CEO Post

While struggling for months to separate its units, Motorola is having more success separating its top executives. The latest to go is Dan Moloney, president of Motorola's home business and long-time top executive in the firm's set-top box business.

Announced Monday, Moloney's departure takes place as Motorola moves to separate into two units in 2011. Moloney will become chief executive officer at Technitrol, a producer of electronic components for a wide variety of industries. Technitrol, like Motorola's set-top unit, is located in Pennsylvania.

Motorola said that Sanjay Jha, Motorola co-chief executive officer and CEO of the company's mobile devices and home businesses, will take over "the leadership role for the home business, effective immediately."

Motorola was widely reported to be interested in selling the set-top box business last year, but no buyer materialized. After that Motorola began promoting the home unit as a good fit for the mobile devices business, noting that mobile phone and set-top box technologies are converging.

"Mobile devices and home are two highly complementary businesses," said Jha in a statement Monday, "and I am confident that the combined entity will be uniquely positioned to leverage the growth opportunities arising from the convergence of mobility, media, and the Internet."

Motorola has been seeking to regain its momentum in recent years after it began losing market share in cell phones -- a category it practically invented and dominated for years. Attempts to sell off the mobile devices unit failed and Jha was brought in from Qualcomm to head up the unit. The operation has shown signs of rebounding after Motorola announced several mobile phones based on Google's Android platform.

The other Motorola unit -- enterprise mobility solutions and networks -- is led by Greg Brown, the firm's other co-chief executive officer. Brown, who like Jha praised Moloney's long Motorola service, noted that the departing executive had driven the company's global video leadership.

Moloney will take over the CEO post at Technitrol at the end of March, succeeding the retiring James M. Papada, III.