Motorola CEO Zander May Resign

Amid fresh criticism over his leadership, Mororola CEO Ed Zander may be about to step down according to rumors on the Street, one analyst says.

The latest calls for resignation come from investor Eric Jackson, who demanded that Zander leave as part of what he calls "Motorola Plan B." In addition, he calls on shareholders to replace four board members, create a long-term plan and name a permanent head of the mobile devices business.

Jackson claims that he already has support from 18 individual investors and is in contact with large institutional shareholders to put further pressure on the company to make a move.

Another investor, Carl Icahn, made similar demands earlier in the year. In any case, some analysts are now saying tht Zander may already indeed be on his way out, although Motorola is declining to comment.

Motorola trails its competitors by a large margin when it comes to shareholder returns. Jacksaon says that since Zander became CEO in 2004, shareholders have only seen a return of 13.5 percent. Nokia investors have seen a return of 37.8 percent during the same period.

"This company has a leadership and a mobile product problem which needs to be corrected - not in 6 months from now, after it falls further behind its competitors," Jackson argued.

Motorola posted a first-quarter loss, mostly due to weak handset sales and a lack of advanced models. It is also expecting a loss in the second quarter, and recently said that it does not expect its mobile phone business to be profitable in 2007.