"Gary has been a terrific partner in the merger, and with the integration of the teams complete, this is a natural time for this transition," John Thompson, Symantec's chairman and CEO, said in a statement. "I appreciate the dedication and passion he brought to Symantec."

"The strength of the management team at Symantec gives me comfort in deciding to use this transition to take a break after almost 25 years in the high-technology industry," Bloom said. "I still firmly believe in the strategic rationale for bringing Symantec and Veritas together."

The lines of business currently reporting to Bloom will report directly to Thompson; Bloom's position will not be filled at this time, Symantec said.

Bloom joined Symantec when the company merged with Veritas Software. Before the merger, Bloom had served as Veritas' CEO from 2000 to 2002 and as its chairman since 2002.

In September, John Schwarz, president of Symantec, left the company and joined Business Objects SA as its CEO.