CNN/Money 
CNNMoney.com
News > Technology
graphic
Dell's Michael Dell gives up CEO post
PC maker's founder to continue as chairman, yielding position to president Kevin Rollins.
March 4, 2004: 1:46 PM EST

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Dell Inc. said Thursday that Michael Dell, the PC maker's founder, will relinquish the chief executive post in July but remain as company chairman.

The company said Kevin Rollins, currently president and chief operating officer, will serve as president and CEO.

YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS
Follow the news that matters to you. Create your own alert to be notified on topics you're interested in.

Or, visit Popular Alerts for suggestions.

The move comes a day after Walt Disney Co. took the chairman's job away from Michael Eisner but kept him as CEO. But Dell (DELL: Research, Estimates)'s actions do not appear to have the any of the contentiousness that led to Eisner's ouster as chairman.

Michael Dell has taken on a role as more of a big picture thinker for the company in recent years while Rollins has assumed more of the day-to-day spotlight. Rollins has been with Dell since 1996 and was named president and COO in March 2001.

"The pending title change is consistent with current primary roles: Mr. Dell emphasizing trends in technology and customer preference, including research and development, Mr. Rollins leading company strategy and operations," the company said in a written statement.

Dell is the latest company to split the role of CEO and chairman. Oracle CEO Larry Ellison gave up his title of chairman in January. Jeff Henley, formerly Oracle's CFO, assumed the chairman position. Also in January, semiconductor firm Texas Instruments announced that long-time CEO and chairman Tom Engibous would give up his CEO role in May. Rich Templeton, Texas Instruments' chief operating officer since 2000, will take over as CEO.

Shares of Dell fell slightly in trading on the Nasdaq Thursday.  Top of page




  More on TECHNOLOGY
Microsoft loses $290M patent case over Word '07
100 mpg: What we'll drive next
IPhone clone wars heat up
  TODAY'S TOP STORIES
Exxon's unwanted drama over drilling
New home sales plunge in November
Stocks hang on after weak housing report




graphic graphic

© 2009 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Privacy Policy. Advertising Practices.
Copyright © 2009 BigCharts.com Inc. All rights reserved. Please see our Terms of Use.
MarketWatch, the MarketWatch logo, and BigCharts are registered trademarks of MarketWatch, Inc.
Intraday data provided by Interactive Data Real-Time Services and subject to the Terms of Use.
Intraday data is at least 20-minutes delayed. All times are ET.
Historical, current end-of-day data, and splits data provided by Interactive Data Pricing and Reference Data.
Fundamental data provided by Morningstar, Inc..
SEC Filings data provided by Edgar Online Inc..
Earnings data provided by FactSet CallStreet, LLC.