Agilent Names McMullen CEO; Board Okays Keysight Spin-off

(RTTNews) - Scientific instruments maker Agilent Technologies Inc (A), Wednesday named Mike McMullen as chief executive officer, effective March 18, 2015.

McMullen, currently senior vice president and president of the company's Chemical Analysis Group, will succeed William Sullivan. Sullivan will remain an advisor through the end of the fiscal year ending October 2015, when he will retire.

As an initial part of the transition, Agilent promoted McMullen as president and chief operating officer, effective immediately.

McMullen has been senior vice president, Agilent, and president of the company's Chemical Analysis Group since 2009. He joined Hewlett-Packard, Agilent's predecessor company, in 1984 as a financial analyst in the Analytical Products Group. Since then he has served in various senior management positions.

Sullivan has been president and CEO of Agilent since March 2005. He joined Hewlett-Packard in 1976.

Separately, Agilent said its board approved the separation of its electronic measurement subsidiary, Keysight Technologies Inc. The company also declared a special dividend distribution of all outstanding shares of Keysight's common stock to Agilent shareholders, payable November 1.

The distribution of Keysight common stock will complete the formal separation of the electronic measurement business from Agilent. Keysight will then be an independent, publicly traded company, and Agilent will retain no ownership interest.

Keysight will trade its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange with its ticker symbol "KEYS", and Agilent will continue to trade on the ticker symbol "A".

Last year, Agilent announced its intent to separate into two publicly traded companies to spur growth. Agilent to focus on life sciences, diagnostics and applied markets and Keysight Technologies to focus on electronic measurement products.

Agilent has also created a new services and consumables unit, the Agilent CrossLab Group, with Mark Doak as group president, effectively immediately. Doak has been senior vice president and general manager of the Services and Support Division.

Agilent announced a quarterly dividend of 13.2 cents per share.

Agilent stock closed Wednesday at $58.89, up $0.98 or 1.69%, on a volume of 2.7 million shares. In after hours, the stock gained $1.11 or 1.88%.