VMware starts search for a new CEO, stock falls

VMware Inc.
VMW,
-7.26%
said Wednesday that it has initiated a global search for a new chief executive officer, in the wake of CEO Pat Gelsinger’s decision to step down on Feb. 12 to be come chip maker Intel Corp.’s
INTC,
+8.50%
CEO. Gelsinger has served as the enterprise cloud company’s CEO since September 2012. Shares of VMware dropped 5.6% in morning trading. Since the end of September 2012 through Tuesday, VMware shares had rallied 47.7%, while the SPDR S&P Software & Services ETF
XSW,
-0.18%
had rocketed 382.2% and the S&P 500
SPX,
+0.15%
had soared 163.8%.