Akamai CEO Sagan to step down in 2013

Akamai CEO Paul Sagan, who helped lead the company through the dot-com bust and the loss of company co-founder Daniel Lewin in the Sept. 11, 2011 terrorist attacks, plans to step down in 2013.

In a statement, the cloud and content delivery company said Sagan will move on by the end of 2013. Sagan will stay on through the selection process as well as the transition.

Akamai has formed a CEO committee. Sagan was named president in 1999 and been CEO since 2005.

Sagan said Akamai has been on "an incredible journey prevailing against enormous odds and challenges." Indeed, Lewin was on board the American Airlines flight 11 that crashed into the World Trade Center in New York. In 2002, Akamai shares fell below the $1 mark.

Separately, Akamai reported its first quarter results. Akamai reported first quarter earnings of $43 million, or 24 cents a share, on revenue of $319 million, up 16 percent from a year ago. Non-GAAP earnings were 41 cents a share.

Wall Street was looking for earnings of 38 cents a share on revenue of $311 million.

Akamai said its second quarter revenue range will be $322 million to $330 million, better than expectations. The earnings outlook for the second quarter---36 cents a share to 38 cents a share---was also better than expected.