Standard Pacific Homes, Irvine, Calif. (NYSE:SPF) on Monday after market close said its CEO for the past three years, Ken Campbell, would leave both that post and his seat on the company¹s board on January 1, 2012. Scott Stowell, StanPac's president, will immediately assume day-to-day management of the company and will become CEO and a board member upon Campbell's departure, the company said.

The departure was not unexpected. In making the announcement, Campbell, who came from Matlin Patterson, the private equity firm that owns much of Standard Pacific, said his tenure as CEO was "about as long as a restructuring guy like me should stick around."

He continued, "I am particularly encouraged by the growth in sales during the summer despite the obvious challenges. I believe this is a strong indicator that our move-up strategy and land acquisition program is going to be successful."

Said Stowell, "I'm looking forward to taking on the CEO role and working closely with Ken and the other members of our senior management team over the next several months to assure a smooth transition. As I look around the company, I see a talented and experienced group of people who will help us to create stockholder value as we navigate the remainder of this downturn while preparing for the housing market¹s eventual recovery."

Stowell has bee president March and previously served as COO since 2007. He joined StanPac in 1986 and has held progressive roles, including president of the Orange County division and president of the Southern California region.

Ronald Foell, co-founder and chairman of Standard Pacific, said, "We are grateful for the strong leadership Ken has provided to Standard Pacific Homes during an extremely challenging time for the company and thank him for positioning us well for future success."

In a note to investors, Wells Fargo analyst Adam Rudiger said, "Despite his incessant need to highlight the superiority of the Southern California weather during winter months in New York, we believe investors largely held Mr. Campbell in high regard, given his candid and fresh perspective. Further, he was responsible for leading the company's recapitalization and he implemented the company's current strategy. Therefore, we view the announcement as a modest negative. That said, we believe Mr. Stowell is an experienced and capable replacement, having joined SPF in 1986. He has served as a division president, a regional president and Chief Operating Officer."

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