Lenovo has new chief executive
(AP)
Updated: 2005-12-21 11:23

Chinese computer maker Lenovo Group Ltd. said Wednesday it has named former Dell Inc. executive William J. Amelio as its new chief executive and president.

Amelio, 48, replaces outgoing head Steve Ward, a transition figure after Lenovo's takeover of IBM's personal computing business last May.

Amelio's appointment marks a turning point for the world's No. 3 computer manufacturer after its IBM acquisition--the biggest foreign takeover by a Chinese company, said Yang Yuanqing, chairman of Lenovo Group Ltd.

"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," Yang said in a statement issued in Hong Kong, where the company is listed.

He said Amelio, also a former IBM executive, has the background 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."

Lenovo said in August it has already reversed losses in IBM's previous money-losing PC unit.

Amelio was most recently senior vice president and president for Asia-Pacific and Japan at Dell. Before Dell, he was general manager of worldwide operations for IBM's PC division. He also worked at NCR Corp., Honeywell International Inc. and AlliedSignal Inc.

By naming an established computer industry executive and a foreigner as its new chief executive, Beijing-based Lenovo appears to be trying to burnish its credentials as a global company.

Amelio's appointment also comes after the company reported poorer-than-expected July-September results.

Lenovo reported 22 percent profit growth, but its stock was punished in the Hong Kong market, because the quarterly profit of 354 million Hong Kong dollars (US$45.7 million; euro38.5 million) fell on the lower end of analysts' expectations.

Lenovo said Ward, another former IBM executive, has agreed to stay on as a consultant and help in the leadership transition.