(Reuters) - Network equipment maker F5 Networks Inc (NASDAQ:FFIV) said longtime Chief Executive John McAdam will retire in July, a move that comes at a time when the company is facing slowing revenue growth.
McAdam, who has held the top job for 15 years, will be replaced by Manuel Rivelo, currently F5 Network's executive vice president of strategic solutions.
Shares of the company, which also reported its slowest revenue growth in five quarters, fell 4 percent to $115.46 in extended trading.
McAdam, a communications industry veteran, navigated F5 Networks through the post-dot-com era, bringing the company to profitability.
During his tenure, the company's annual revenue rose to about $1.7 billion from $108.6 million, while the stock has risen more than four-fold.
The company, however, has been under pressure in the past few quarters as larger-sized deals become hard to come by.
For the quarter ended March 31, F5 Networks posted earnings of $1.18 per share, falling short of the average analyst estimate of $1.50 per share.
The company also warned that a stronger dollar would impact revenue in the current quarter.
"We recognize that the US dollar's strength relative to the euro and other currencies likely had an impact on the demand environment in EMEA and APAC in Q2," McAdam said in a statement.
McAdam will retire in July, after which he will become chairman of the board.
The company's net income rose to $85.7 million, or $1.18 per share, in the second quarter ended March 31, from $69.6 million, or 91 cents per share, a year earlier.
Revenue rose 12.4 percent to $472.1 million. Analysts on average had expected $471.1 mln.