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Technology Stocks : Compaq -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: PCSS who wrote (85579)	10/13/2000 5:20:11 PM
From: Elwood P. Dowd	Respond to of 97611

Friday October 13 5:03 PM ET PC Pioneer Ben Rosen Says Goodbye to Compaq(UPDATE) By Jeff Franks HOUSTON (Reuters) - Longtime Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE:CPQ - news) chairman Ben Rosen, who played a key role in ushering in the age of personal computing, said goodbye to the company on Thursday in an emotional ceremony marking his retirement and replacement as chairman by chief executive Michael Capellas. On September 28, Compaq said President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Capellas had added the title of chairman, effective immediately, and Rosen would retire. Rosen, 67, fought back tears as he spoke about the accomplishments of Compaq from its start in 1982 as an idea sketched on a restaurant placemat to its status today as the world's largest personal computer maker. ``As I leave Compaq, it's with extraordinary pride at the towering achievements you all have had,'' he told a gathering of several thousand employees at the company's Houston headquarters. ``(You) have created the modern portable computer industry and the PC server industry,'' Rosen said, referring to the two key products that catapulted Compaq into what is now a $40 billion company. ``These are great achievements -- to create 65,000 jobs, $40 billion in sales and $40 billion in market value, all starting with a sketch and a dream,'' he said. >>>Rosen on Thursday said his decision to step down as chairman was designed ``to forever end any doubt whether the CEO runs the company.''<< Capellas was selected chief executive last year after predecessor Eckhard Pfeiffer resigned amid falling sales and disappearing profits. He has been working to restore Compaq's luster and said on Thursday he expected ``strong double-digit (revenue) growth the rest of the year. ``We're managing for growth now, not restructuring,'' he said. Rosen, who had chaired the company since its inception, praised Capellas's performance in turning the company around from the dark days of early 1999. >>>``Of all the things over the 18 years, the achievement I'm proudest of is selecting Michael as the CEO of Compaq Computer,'' he said.<< Rosen helped bring Compaq into the world when, as a venture capitalist, he agreed to fund a then-revolutionary idea by three engineers, including founder and former chief executive Rod Canion, to create a portable personal computer. They sketched out the concept on a placemat while dining at the House of Pies restaurant in Houston. From then on, as chairman, Rosen guided the company through two tumultuous management changes, including the departure of Pfeiffer and Canion before him in October 1991. He took over as acting CEO last year and led the executive search that ended with the selection of Capellas. Through the years, even as Compaq occasionally stumbled, Rosen earned a reputation as a chairman who knew what Wall Street liked -- predictable results and a high stock price. In recent days, Compaq's stock, which had been in the 30s, has dropped below $25 amid ongoing concerns about the health of the PC industry. The company's stock closed at $25.20 a share, up $2.67, on the New York Stock Exchange (news - web sites). In a vintage Rosen moment on Thursday, he jokingly reminded Capellas what was important. ``Michael, when I left the chairmanship the stock price began with a 3,'' he said. ``We're still chasing 4, pal,'' Capellas said to great applause from Compaq employees.