The chiefs of two tech business are the latest to pay for their companies’ investigations into the handling of stock options.Antivirus and security software provider McAfee Inc. announced that it had fired president Kevin Weiss, and that chief executive and chairman George Samenuk would retire after a stock options investigation found accounting problems that will require financial restatements.
On the heels of McAfee’s announcement, San Francisco-based CNET Networks Inc. said that its co-founder and chief executive Shelby Bonnie had resigned after a similar probe at the online publisher.
At least 130 companies have disclosed Securities and Exchange Commission, Department of Justice or internal investigations into options practices, according to published reports.
Mountain View, Calif.-based software maker Mercury Interactive Corp., was one of the first companies to disclose problems with backdated options, and last year fired its chief executive, chief financial officer and general counsel.
