China Business

Dec 22, 2005

Executive shakeup at Lenovo

HUA HIN - Chinese PC maker Lenovo, which acquired the PC business of IBM earlier this year in a landmark deal, has announced that CEO Stephen M Ward Jr is stepping down from his post. His replacement will be Dell veteran William J Amelio, who will become both president and CEO of Lenovo.

Speaking for Lenovo, chairman Yang Yuanqing stressed that all parties involved had agreed on the change. "With our integration of IBM's PC Division on track and our organizational integration complete, we are accelerating our planning for our next phase of growth. [Ward] and Lenovo's board agreed that now is the right time for this transition. Bill Amelio's combined experience - in our

industry, in emerging and mature markets, in senior operational roles and with IBM - gives him the perfect profile to lead Lenovo from the important stability we have achieved in the first phase of our integration to the profitable growth and efficiency improvement to which we are committed in our next phase."

Amelio said in a statement: "I am very excited to lead this ground-breaking global enterprise ... Lenovo provides me a unique chance to draw on the skills I have developed in every component of my career. Lenovo has a solid foundation in place and enormous opportunities, and I look forward to working with Yuanqing and the entire team to continue the drive to enhance profitable growth."

Amelio, a seasoned veteran of the PC industry, came to Lenovo from Round Rock, Texas-based Dell Computer, where he was a senior vice-president, and had been president of Dell's Asia-Pacific and Japan operations. Before joining Dell, he was executive vice president of NCR, and had served at AlliedSignal and Honeywell, in addition to 18 years at IBM in a variety of senior-management positions.

Lenovo said Ward will remain at the company in a consulting role for an undefined period to ensure a smooth transition. Ward said in a statement, "Yuanqing and I have spent a lot of time thinking about this. Bringing in Bill Amelio is a great move. Lenovo is an incredible company, and I have great confidence in its future success."

(from news services)

China Travel

China Tours

Yangtze River Cruise

Great Wall of China

China Airline

Map of China

Head Office: Rm 202, Hau Fook Mansion, No. 8 Hau Fook St., Kowloon, Hong Kong
Thailand Bureau: 11/13 Petchkasem Road, Hua Hin, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand 77110