Kelly Ross, vice president of U.S. commercial sales at SAS resigned within the last week, and Marianna Clampett, vice president of government, Latin America, education and Canada at SAS, resigned about three weeks ago, said Jim Davis, chief marketing officer at the Cary, N.C.-based company. Both resignations were voluntary, and both left for personal reasons, Davis said.

The two reported directly to SAS CEO Jim Goodnight, who plans to take over the responsibilities of the two roles for now, according to Davis. He will also look into whether the company should stop focusing on sales by regions and instead focus on an Americas division, Davis said.

"[Goodnight] is running the sales operation in the Americas," Davis said. "He is looking at how best to deal with the changes. He intends to run it for himself for awhile. He's a hands-on guy. He understands development inside and out."

In addition to the executive shuffle, SAS also is restructuring its BetterManagement subsidiary, which produces online content and technology conferences. SAS has decided to move the operations of BetterManagement from its Beaverton, Ore. location to the SAS.com division in Cary. That move will affect about 20 employees, who will have the opportunity to apply for new jobs within SAS, Davis said. The core operations of BetterManagement -- including the conferences -- will not be affected, he said.

He said the move was made to eliminate the redundant IT shop in Oregon responsible for the operation.