Looks like another hit for EDS earnings. It is amazing what a great job all of these guys have done and Wall Street thinks the stock is the pits.
Dan
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EDS Vice Chairman Fernandes to Retire After Almost 30 Years; Alberthal, Heller Continue Leadership Roles at Information Services Leader
December 1, 1998 04:29 PM
PLANO, Texas, Dec. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- EDS EDS Vice Chairman Gary Fernandes today announced that he will retire from the $15.2 billion information services leader after almost 30 years of service, effective December 31, 1998.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Les Alberthal and President and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Heller continue in their respective leadership roles at the company and will assume oversight for Fernandes' responsibilities, including global business development, sales and marketing.
Fernandes, 55, has been EDS' vice-chairman since 1996, the year of the company's split-off from General Motors, and a director of EDS since 1981. He began his career as a systems engineer in 1969, rose through positions of increasing responsibility in the United States, Europe and Japan, and was promoted to senior vice president in 1984.
"For nearly 30 years, I have had the privilege of contributing to EDS' growth and evolution as a global IT services and consulting leader and, along the way, to work with some of the best people the business world has to offer," Fernandes said. "Our industry is growing and changing faster than almost any other business today. Against that backdrop, as our board sets a new course of action for EDS, I have come to believe that this is the best time for me to set a new course of action for myself. This company has a great history, and an even brighter future, and I will look forward to following its continued success."
Fernandes established EDS' business with the U.S. federal government and got EDS' international business off the ground by setting up and running the company's first non-U.S. center of operations in London. He also led the company's acquisition in 1995 of management consulting firm A. T. Kearney, the fastest growing of the world's leading management consulting firms. Following that he initiated EDS' global marketing and strategic planning activities and was a key player in negotiations that led to EDS' split-off from GM in June 1996.
"Gary has played a significant role in EDS' growth and success throughout his career," said Alberthal. "Much of our progress reflects Gary's ability to combine a keen eye for today's market complexities and clients' changing IT services needs with his broad and deep understanding of EDS' capabilities. We appreciate his many contributions over the course of his career."
"Gary has contributed a great deal to the increasingly global and diverse profile of our business," said Heller. "The breadth and depth of experience we are fortunate to have across our management team, which he helped build, will continue to position EDS very well to develop effective, innovative solutions for our clients' increasingly complex IT needs. Among our top priorities going forward is our full pipeline of promising new business, at least a quarter of which is in profitable, high-growth services such as electronic business, business process management, and customer-service technologies."
Fernandes' retirement agreement includes a non-compete clause that restricts his participation in activities that would compete with EDS, and allows him to provide consulting services to EDS. The earnings-per-share impact of the package will be approximately $0.02 for the fourth quarter of 1998. The majority of that package is in the value of unvested EDS stock previously granted to Fernandes.
Alberthal announced in August that he will retire from EDS once a successor has been chosen. The search is being led by the Governance Committee of EDS' Board of Directors. Committee Chairman James A. Baker, III, noted that the search is progressing well. "We have made tremendous progress since we began this search in late August. The leader we are seeking would be only the third chairman in EDS' 36-year history and will assume responsibility for a company that's in excellent financial condition and is generating very strong new-contract sales, including many from a rapidly growing base of global accounts.
"Without question, this search is the board's top priority, and we are very pleased with the level of interest in this opportunity," Baker continued. "We have interviewed a number of strong candidates and are proceeding with a great sense of urgency toward finalizing a decision."
EDS, the official information technology services provider for World Cup 1998, is a leader in the global information services industry. The company's more than 110,000 employees specialize in applying a range of ideas and technologies to help business and government clients improve their economics, products, services and relationships. EDS, which serves clients in 47 countries, reported revenues of $15.2 billion in 1997. The company's stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange. Visit EDS via the Internet at eds.com.
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