During EMC’s earnings conference call today, Tucci said he has agreed with a request from EMC’s board to stay on as chairman and CEO into 2013. He said when he does step down, his replacement will come from EMC’s senior management team but the vendor is not yet ready to name the successor.

“After much soul-searching, I have agreed to extend my role as chairman and CEO into 2013,” Tucci said. “I’ve started to increase the responsibilities of my senior team. When the time is right, my successor will be named.”

Tucci last September told the Wall Street Journal that he would relinquish his CEO title by the end of 2012 and remain on as chairman for two years.

The top candidates to replace Tucci are Pat Gelsinger, president of EMC’s information infrastructure product group; CFO Dave Goulden; and Howard Elias, president of EMC’s cloud services group.