toyotataa.com

Motorola president and COO Mike S. Zafirovski will resign at month's end to seek a CEO position, a company spokeswoman said today.

The 51-year-old's move comes as a new corporate structure initiated by CEO Ed Zander takes hold. Zafirovski will work as an advisor to Motorola during the transition.

Mike S. Zafirovski

"We don't intend to name a replacement," Jennifer Weyrauch, a spokeswoman for the mobile handset and networking equipment maker, told internetnews.com. "Ed Zander will assume his responsibilities."

Zafirovski will also relinquish his seat on Motorola's board of directors when his term expires in May. Weyrauch said Zafirovski does not have a new job lined up, but would like a chance to lead a company as CEO.

"With the successful spin-off of our semiconductor business, Freescale, and our new organizational structure, we have a stronger foundation in place today," Zafirovski said in a statement. "This is the right time for me to start considering other opportunities."

Zafirovski, who worked at General Electric for 24 years before joining Motorola in 2000, had lengthy discussions about the move with Zander, the former Sun Microsystems executive hired to turn Motorola around.

Motorola's structural overhaul will take effect Jan. 31. The presidents of the company's business groups -- mobile devices, networks, government and enterprise mobility solutions and connected home solutions -- will report directly to Zander.