Yesterdays news but I have not seen it posted...........................................................business/tech Monday, December 20
With Nunn on board, watch for Dell's status to rise
By Jerry Mahoney
American-Statesman Staff
Monday, December 20, 1999
When Dell Computer Corp. announced last week that it was expanding its board of directors, it did more than add two seats.
By naming former Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Ga., to its board, Dell is likely to reach a new level of status not only in Washington, D.C., but in foreign capitals where Nunn is known by top government officials.
During the course of his four terms in the Senate, Nunn served as the chairman of the Armed Services Committee and the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. He also served on the intelligence and small business committees.
"Sam Nunn brings a tremendous wealth of global, government and public-policy expertise to our board of directors, all crucial areas for a fast-growing company in a fast-changing industry," Chief Executive Michael Dell said in a statement when Nunn's appointment was announced.
Max Sherman, former dean of the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, called Nunn one of the most respected public officials the United States has produced in the past quarter-century.
"Someone who knows the leaders of the world like he does -- and many of them are still in place -- brings a new dimension to a company that is rapidly maturing," Sherman said.
Nunn and outgoing Dell Vice Chairman Mort Topfer were named to two new seats on the board when Dell announced that former IBM executive Jim Vanderslice will replace Topfer as vice chairman.
Nunn, who was outspoken as a senator on issues such as national security, nuclear terrorism and cyber-terrorism, declined through an assistant in Washington to comment about joining the Dell board. The aide said Nunn preferred to attend some Dell board meetings first.
But since leaving the Senate, he has voiced concerns that society's safeguards -- the legal system, religion and international relations -- haven't kept up with the pace of technological change.
"Bridges must be built between the world of science and the world of human relations, bridges which can give shape and purpose to our technology and breathe heart and soul into our knowledge," Nunn said last year when Georgia Tech University named its school of international affairs after him. He also is a distinguished professor there.
Robert Pastor, a professor of political science at Emory University in Atlanta -- Nunn is also on the board of Emory -- said the ex-senator's worries about national security in the computer age "have taken him to new frontiers of technology."
"I expect he hopes to learn more about those frontiers as a member of Dell's board," Pastor said.
Besides his international stature, Nunn also could be an asset for Dell in Washington, where Microsoft Corp.'s recent travails underscored how young, fast-growing technology companies neglected to cultivate political support.
Sherman, who has observed Nunn's career, said Nunn is well-connected with both political parties.
Nunn, however, has said in the past that he doesn't do any lobbying.
After leaving the Senate in 1997, Nunn became a senior partner at the law firm of King & Spalding, which with 360 attorneys, is one of Atlanta's oldest, largest and most prestigious firms. Clients include the Coca Cola Co., Lockheed Martin Corp., Citicorp, Delta Air Lines, General Electric Co., Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., Georgia-Pacific Corp. and SunTrust Banks Inc. At the law firm, he is involved with corporate law and splits his time between Washington and Atlanta.
Nunn followed Griffen Bell,attorney general during the Carter Administration, to King & Spalding. Bell represented Exxon Corp. in the Valdez oil spill and Dow Corning Corp. in its breast implant litigation.
Nunn sits on several other corporate and nonprofit boards, including Coca Cola Co., Texaco Inc., General Electric Co., the Carnegie Corp. of New York and the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Last year, Nunn brushed off speculation that he might run for governor of Georgia by saying the only reason he would return to politics would be to run for president.
In all, Dell has 12 board members. Outside members, such as Nunn, are each paid $40,000 annually plus Dell stock options. |
