WSJ Confirmation of the Heil story by the company with a few additional details. Whatever the truth, they have presented a plausible story that Heil resigned to take up a better offer and that he was not sacked. Rosen used the opportunity to re-organise. I like this story better - no terminal compensation package needed and COMPAQ gets to save the cost of Heil's salary and support staff.
April 30, 1999
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Compaq Chief of Sales
Resigns to Head Start-Up
By GARY MCWILLIAMS
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Compaq Computer Corp.'s chief of world-wide sales and marketing is leaving as the company restructures its sales operations, in a departure that comes on the heels of a management shake-up that saw the company's chief executive and chief financial officer leave.
Michael D. Heil, senior vice president, resigned to become president and chief executive of CommcoTec Corp., a Stamford, Conn., wireless-communications provider. Before joining Compaq in 1995, Mr. Heil, 51 years old, was president of Los Angeles Cellular Telephone Co.
Under a plan announced to employees Thursday, Compaq is returning to a three-region global sales organization, eliminating a global unit that some viewed as an unnecessary layer of management. In an internal memo, the company said: "This change will accelerate our decision-making and bring us even closer to our customers." A spokesman for Houston-based Compaq confirmed the changes.
Compaq Computer's Board Removes Chief Executive Officer Eckhard Pfeiffer (April 19)
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Company Profile: Compaq
The restructuring will have separate sales units for North America; for Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and for Asia, Latin America and Australia.
The move is the first major action by Chairman Benjamin M. Rosen since the board took control April 18. He has said that he and two other directors occupying the office of the chief executive don't intend to be caretakers while a search for a new CEO is under way.
Peter Blackmore, currently head of North American sales, will continue to oversee U.S. and Canadian sales, and Andreas Barth, currently senior vice president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, will remain in that post. In addition, Enrico Pesatori, senior vice president for corporate marketing, will oversee a new region consisting of Asia, Latin America and Australia. The three will report to the office of the chief executive.
Mr. Heil, who took over the world-wide sales and marketing job 14 months ago, was the third executive to run the global sales organization since it was created in October 1996.
CommcoTec, a year-old start-up, was founded by Scott Reardon, a Sioux Falls, S.D., entrepreneur and president of Dakon Group, an investment company. CommcoTec is in the process of building a nationwide network and plans to begin offering high-speed wireless data services to companies. A CommocoTec spokesman confirmed Mr. Heil's appointment.
"It's a really exciting opportunity," Mr. Heil said. "It's clear that this is a business that can be as successful as cellular [telecommunications] was." As part of his compensation package, he received a 10% to 15% stake in the company. |
