March 5 (Bloomberg) -- McAfee Inc., the world's second- biggest maker of security software, named EMC Corp.'s David DeWalt chief executive officer after its own CEO stepped down over a stock-option probe.

The appointment of DeWalt, 42, EMC's head of customer operations, was confirmed today by Siobhan MacDermott, a spokeswoman for Santa Clara, California-based McAfee. He starts April 2. EMC announced his departure earlier today.

McAfee's former CEO, George Samenuk, stepped down in October as part of a stock-options backdating scandal that also led to the ouster of President Kevin Weiss. Former General Counsel Kent Roberts last week pleaded not guilty to falsifying board minutes and improperly backdating grants, which contributed to a restatement of 10 years of financial results.

``I have to restore the image of McAfee,'' DeWalt said in an interview. ``Part of what I have to do is instill integrity in what we're doing as a company, make sure we're beyond squeaky clean as a company and an entity, and produce good products and technology.''

DeWalt, who joined EMC in 2003, will remain at the world's largest maker of data-storage computers and software through April 1, EMC spokesman Michael Gallant said in an interview.

McAfee shares declined 43 cents to $29.55 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Symantec Corp. is the largest maker of security software.

Documentum Chief

At EMC, DeWalt reported to CEO Joe Tucci and was responsible for global customer operations, worldwide product sales, and EMC's content management and archiving software business. Formerly CEO of Documentum Inc., DeWalt joined Hopkinton, Massachusetts-based EMC when it acquired Documentum for about $1.7 billion in stock in October 2003.

He has more than 20 years of experience in the technology industry and holds a computer-science and electrical-engineering degree from the University of Delaware, according to EMC's Web site.

DeWalt said he will run the company from its offices in Plano, Texas.

``McAfee has all of these assets and my job will be to make sure we're perceived as a good company to work with in one of the hottest sectors -- the security market,'' DeWalt said. ``I personally believe it's a very nascent market.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Connie Guglielmo in San Francisco at cguglielmo1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: March 5, 2007 20:14 EST