UPDATE 2-Foster Wheeler CEO resigns; replacement named

* Says Robert Flexon will replace Raymond Milchovich

* CEO resigns as headquarters moves to Switzerland

* Says COO to extend his term until 2013

* Shares down more than 3 percent (Adds conference call details)

Dec 17 (Reuters) - Foster Wheeler (FWLT.O) named Robert Flexon chief executive officer, replacing Raymond Milchovich, who stepped down due to the engineering and construction company's decision to move to Switzerland.

Milchovich, who joined Foster Wheeler in 2001, said on a conference call that his decision to resign was because he and his family were not prepared to move to Switzerland permanently.

He will serve as non-executive chairman and consultant through October 2011.

Shares of Foster Wheeler dropped more than 3 percent at $28.25 Thursday morning on Nasdaq.

Earlier this month, the company said it was moving its headquarters from Perryville, New Jersey, to Geneva, Switzerland, due to the logistical advantage to its various locations and certain advantages in terms of tax optimization.

On a conference call with analysts, the CEO said the company intends to continue to be listed on Nasdaq, given the establishment and liquidity in the market, adding there are no plans to change the way it reports earnings.

Milchovich said Flexon's appointment as CEO was part of a succession plan to be executed if Milchovich chose to leave at the end of his three-year contract signed late last year.

Flexon, who was appointed in October as CEO of Foster Wheeler USA, will assume his new role on June 1, 2010.

The company also said Chief Operating Officer Umberto Della Sala agreed to extend his term through 2013. (Reporting by Arundhati Ramanathan in Bangalore; Editing by Anne Pallivathuckal and Anil D'Silva)