Arif Shakeel appointed CEO of Western Digital

Shakeel, currently President and Chief Operating Officer, will retain the title of President upon becoming CEO. In his new role, one of Shakeel's key areas of focus will be the Middle East hard drive market, which has been growing at an exponential pace.

Shakeel takes over as CEO from Matt Massengill, who will remain actively engaged as Executive Chairman of the Board as well as in relationships with shareholders and other strategic constituents. The appointment of Shakeel to the post of CEO was necessitated after Massengill indicated his desire to move into the role of Executive Chairman, having served as CEO since 2000.

After beginning their Western Digital careers in the mid-1980s, Massengill and Shakeel have spent the last six years building the company into one of the world's leading manufacturers of hard drives for the computing and consumer electronics markets.

"The dynamic leadership of Mr. Massengill and Mr. Shakeel has been the cornerstone of WD's remarkable growth over the last few years," said Hafeez Khawaja, WD Senior Regional Director, Middle East, Africa and South Asia. "Under their leadership, WD almost doubled its revenue from US$ 2 billion in fiscal 2000 to US$ 3.6 billion in fiscal 2005, substantially increased its profitability and improved the company's balance sheet, while posting the hard drive industry's leading returns on invested capital. The organizational restructuring will help WD continue on the path of steady growth and effectively address present and future business challenges."

Shakeel was elected to the WD Board of Directors in September 2004. He was appointed President in January 2002, a year after being named Chief Operating Officer. Shakeel joined the company in 1985 as a Product Marketing Manager, before going on to hold positions as Vice President of Marketing, Vice President of Business Development, Vice President of Far East Sales, and Vice President of Materials, Asia.

Shakeel holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Memphis State University and an MBA from Pepperdine University.