Rackspace Hosting CEO Lanham Napier Retires

(RTTNews) - Rackspace Hosting Inc. (RAX) said Monday that Lanham Napier has retired from the company as Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board of Directors.

Graham Weston, Rackspace's co-founder and Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer. He previously served as Rackspace's Chief Executive Officer from July 1999 to August 2006.

Napier plans to invest in and advise other entrepreneurial companies following a decision to step away from public company executive leadership. He will remain a consultant to Rackspace for the next several months to ensure a smooth transition.

Rackspace said its board has initiated a comprehensive search process to identify a long-term successor CEO and retained a leading executive recruiting firm to assist in the search. The search includes a full review of internal and external candidates.