Merle Gilmore's resignation follows Motorola's warning to investors that its fourth-quarter and 2001 earnings will lag forecasts. The company blamed its problems on slower growth in cell phone profits and on semiconductor sales.
The company revised its fourth-quarter estimate to 27 cents a share. It had been expected to earn 37 cents, the average estimate from analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial.
"Obviously, Gilmore is taking direct responsibility for the performance of the cell phone segment," said Brian Modoff, a Deutsche Banc Alex Brown analyst, who was one of several analysts to downgrade Motorola.
Robert Growney, president and chief operating officer, will serve as acting president of Motorola's communications enterprise division, which includes cell phones, pagers and equipment used to build wireless networks, the company said.
Motorola shares have dropped 58 percent this year.
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