Why are all these people leaving Compaq???????????????????
techweb.com
Two Top Execs Quit At Compaq
(01/10/98; 8:34 a.m. EST)
By Steven Burke, Computer Reseller News
Compaq Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales Roel Pieper and Vice President and General Manager of North American Sales James Schraith have both resigned Friday.
The No. 1 PC maker announced the resignations in a tersely worded statement released at 7:30 p.m. EST. The company gave no reason for the sudden departures.
"I am shocked," said Jeff Matthews, general partner, Ram Partners, a Greenwhich, Conn. fund. "Two at the same time at this level, especially the head of sales, is surprising. It's the Friday night massacre."
Pieper, the former CEO of Tandem Computer Corp., came to Compaq last year after the computer maker acquired Tandem in a bid to transform itself into a full line computer supplier like IBM.
Schraith, the former CEO of AST Research Inc.., headed up the No. 1 PC maker's channel programs. Schraith is reportedly taking the chief executive post of a startup company funded by billionaire Paul Allen, sources said.
Michael Heil,Compaq Senior Vice President and Group General Manager, Consumer Products Group, will replace Pieper and also assume Schraith's duties until a replacement is named. Compaq officials could not be reached for further comment.
Matthews said he believes there is "internal management issues" related to what he called a "disconnect we seem to have between the wildly bullish everything couldn't be better face Compaq is putting on the world, when we know, in fact, they are stuffing the daylights out of the channel."
Compaq, which flirted with acquiring direct marketer Gateway 2000 last year, is in the midst of rolling out an aggressive channel assembly program.
Speaking about Pieper's departure, Matthews said: "Rarely does an ex-CEO that has been merged into another company hang around that long. It is not a natural transition to go from CEO to a line guy."
Rod Schrock, Vice President of the Presario Division will become Vice President of the Consumer Products Group and will oversee Compaq's Consumer business. Schrock will continue to serve as Vice President of the Presario Division until a successor is named. <Picture: TW> |
