Consulting chief quits Siebel

An executive in charge of consulting services at Siebel Systems is leaving the software company at the end of the year, a representative for the San Mateo, Calif., company confirmed Friday. Karen Riley, a senior vice president of the Global Services group who manages a third of the company's 5,000 employees, plans to "retire from Siebel," on Jan. 1, 2004, the representative said. The software maker informed its employees of her departure earlier this week.

Riley, who reports directly to Siebel CEO Tom Siebel, joined the company in 1999 after 20 years at IBM. Siebel executive Herb Hunt will replace Riley. Her exit follows those of several other high-level executives from Siebel over the past year. Paul Wahl, the company's former president and chief operating officer, quit earlier this year. Bill McDermott, a former executive vice president of sales, left Siebel and joined rival SAP about a year ago.