RE: eMachines Integration
Gateway IT Executive Resigns
By GARY MCWILLIAMS
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
May 13, 2005 3:59 p.m.
HOUSTON -- The executive in charge of personal-computer maker Gateway Inc.'s information technology operations resigned after a year on the job to return to his software and services company.
Andy Lee, who was named Gateway's senior vice president of Information Technology/Web in April 2004, resigned effective May 9 to return to Alorica Inc., which provides customer-software and services to Gateway. Mr. Lee didn't return phone calls seeking comment. He started Alorica in 1998 and remains its majority owner.
Mr. Lee was hired to oversee Irvine, Calif.-based Gateway's systems after a succession of managers had struggled to devise a system that could cut across its Web, sales, and customer operations and to combine the systems of Gateway and its 2004 acquisition, eMachines Inc. Over the years, Gateway had tried to develop its own software, and implement SAP AG and Siebel Systems Inc. software to manage sales, service and manufacturing operations.
Alorica, of Chino, Calif., is developing a new customer-service system for Gateway. It also supplies the firm with technical support, product registration and other services under a relationship that began in 2003. Alorica has received $58 million from Gateway since the start of 2004.
A Gateway spokesman said Mr. Lee would not be immediately replaced and his computer-department duties would be assigned to John Goldsberry, the Irvine, Calif. PC maker's senior vice president of operations.
Mr. Lee will consult with Gateway, the spokesman said. The integration of Gateway and eMachines computer systems remains on track for completion in the first quarter of 2006, the Gateway spokesman said. |
