PWC CEO Unexpectedly Announces Plans To Step Down

James Schiro, 55, CEO of PricewaterhouseCoopers, has unexpectedly announced [1] his plan to step down as soon as a successor can be found.

During his tenure as CEO, Mr. Schiro oversaw the 1998 merger of Price Waterhouse and Coopers Lybrand, as well as the 2000 failed attempt [2] to sell the firm's consultancy practice to Hewlett-Packard. Rough times as CEO included an investigation [3] by the Securities and Exchange Commission into independence of the firm's auditors, and the recent $55 million settlement [4] with the shareholders of MicroStrategy over the issue of a flawed audit.

Under the watchful eye of Mr. Schiro, PricewaterhouseCoopers, along with Ernst & Young, took a non-combative, cooperative approach with the SEC last year during the hearings on auditor independence.

The company predicts that it will be several months before a successor is named.