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

To: rupert1 who wrote (59006)	4/20/1999 7:37:00 PM
From: rupert1	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 97611

Verbatim 3 Part 3 texas_zippy Apr 20 1999 3:57PM EDT Mr. Rosen: Thanks, Frank. Thanks, Ted, and thank all of you. I want to reemphasize our belief that the potential of the company is absolutely unlimited. We're extremely enthusiastic about the opportunity. And we really want to hear from you and we need your help. And in this together, we can reenergize this company and let it reassume the respect and the leadership that it's had and that it's deserved.... We did make one decision. I've noticed – in the last couple of years I've been doing a lot of investing in start-up companies in Silicon Valley and Silicon Alley and all around the country. And the one thing they all have in common is a very relaxed attitude toward dress. I think that it's easier to work in a more relaxed environment, a less formal environment. So we decided – the Office of Chief Executive in its first action – that we really should adopt a more casual toward our dress. (Applause.) .... You're free to dress any way you want. I assume with customers you'll dress appropriately.... We want you to enjoy your day and to really give your all to Compaq. So relax, enjoy it, and let's spring ahead. Let me ask for a question from the audience, for any of us or all of us. Question. Mary Kuna, of Houston: My question is: since you've been talking about the Office of the CEO, whether or not – and how effective that is in making decisions, whether or not you would keep that moving forward. I know you've been talking about looking for one CEO, but might you, if you get into it, consider keeping this office? Mr. Rosen: That's a very good question. There are companies such as Dell and General Electric and a lot of other companies that do have an "Office of," that worked very effectively. And it's a question that we'll be exploring ... as we operate as an Office of the Chief Executive. And when we attract our new full-time chief executive I think in consultation with him or her, we'll decide what's the appropriate way. There are certainly advantages [to an Office of the Chief Executive] in a company as large as ours, as complex as ours.... Somebody has to be visiting customers all the time, somebody has to be inside all the time. It's very hard for a single person to do it. So it's certainly something that we'll explore. Mr. Doyle: In many ways, [that] was the only way a company that large and that complex could be run effectively. And the role is somewhat different. I think it varies from company to company, industry to industry, but I up until Friday, I also did some consulting work outside. And in many cases, it was to do exactly that – to put in place new forms of contemporary management. And the two characteristics – you tend to need talent available at the top, and you need, generally speaking, a flatter, faster-moving organization. So I think that's going to be the hallmark of what we do here, and I am quite sure that the kind of CEO we seek is one that may choose to do it or not do it, but they have to be comfortable in that kind of environment.... Question. Laurie Frick, from the Consumer Group: Rather than waiting for direction from the Chief Executive Office, are there some fundamentals or some principles ... that you could instill [in] all the operating groups within Compaq today, in terms of moving forward? .... Mr. Rosen: I'd certainly hope so. I don't want to have to make all the decisions for all of the groups in the company, and-