EMC Search for New CEO Is Said to Pit Goulden Against Gelsinger

EMC Corp. Chief Financial Officer David Goulden and fellow executive Pat Gelsinger are the early front runners in a race to succeed Chief Executive Officer Joe Tucci, two people with knowledge with the matter said.

Tucci, 63, who plans to step down as CEO of the storage provider after next year, has considered at least four candidates, Gelsinger, an EMC president, said in an interview last month. Those are Gelsinger, Goulden, Howard Elias, president of EMC’s services unit, and Paul Maritz, CEO of VMware Inc., majority owned by EMC. Maritz wants to stay at VMware, and Elias isn’t a serious contender, said the people, who asked for anonymity because the search is private.