Peregrine, post-bankruptcy, names new CEO

The CEO who led Peregrine Systems through a bankruptcy in the aftermath of an accounting scandal has stepped down, clearing the way for the company this week to appoint John Mutch as its new chief.

Mutch formerly served as CEO of analytics software maker HNC Software. He replaces Gary Greenfield, who joined Peregrine as CEO in June 2002, after the company announced massive accounting irregularities and the resignations of several officers.

Peregrine, based in San Diego, filed in September 2002 for bankruptcy, from which it emerged earlier this month under a reorganization and creditor-repayment plan. As part of its restructuring, Peregrine sold many of the assets it had picked up through years of splashy acquisitions. The company is now focusing on two flagship IT management software suites, ServiceCenter and AssetCenter.

Mutch joined Peregrine’s board of directors in March as the company worked on a complete revamp of its board. This week, it named as its chairman James Jenkins, who also joined the board in March.

Peregrine has begun reaching out to customers and discussing its product roadmap as it seeks to overcome its troubled recent past. But Mutch will still have work to do rebuilding the foundation of Peregrine’s business: The company has yet to regain the Nasdaq listing it lost for failing to file financial statements on time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The reports on its most recent quarter and fiscal year remain outstanding.