3Com names China-based CEO after Buyout Denial

Mao will succeed Edgar Masri, who joined 3Com in 2006 and is leaving the company.

The Massachusetts-based company said it has hired Ronald Sege as its new president and chief operating officer, effective at the end of this month.

Mao, 64, who became 3Com's executive vice president for corporate development in August 2006, left seven months later, though he retained a spot on 3Com's board.

Shares of 3Com fell more than 1 percent to $2.31 in after-hours trading.

3Com said in a statement Tuesday that Mao will be based in China "to support the company's increasing emphasis on its growing and profitable China-based H3C operations."

Mao, who has worked in China for Nortel Networks, will be in charge of 4,000 employees in China, a growing market for 3Com's switches, routers and other gear to help data networks run efficiently.

Mao previously held executive and sales positions in China with Nortel Networks and Alcatel. Mao also served as the 3Com's executive vice president of corporate development before becoming CEO.

"I believe 3Com can leverage H3C as the cornerstone of its future," Mao said in a statement, "Our objective now is to combine the strength and momentum of H3C with 3Com's global customer base."