Motorola has named Ed Zander, former president and second-in-command at Sun Microsystems, to be its new chairman and CEO, replacing Chris Galvin.
Zander will become chief executive from 5 January. Motorola bypassed the leading internal candidate, Mike Zafirovski, who continues to serve as chief operating officer.
Galvin, a grandson of the company's founder, was named chief executive six years ago after spending his career at Motorola.
Three months ago, Galvin announced he would step down after disagreement with the board of directors over the direction of the company.
Over the past two years, Motorola has been forced to pursue massive cost cutting, including a one-third reduction in its work force.
Motorola's operation in Cork employs approximately 550 people.