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EDS names new CEO
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December 10, 1998: 6:37 p.m. ET
Infotech services firm picks telecom veteran Richard H. Brown as its leader
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Information technology company Electronic Data Systems Corp. on Thursday named Richard H. Brown to lead the company into the new millennium.
Brown, 51, was plucked from the corner office of Cable & Wireless, a British telecommunications company the industry veteran is credited with transforming into a global contender.
He succeeds Les Alberthal, EDS' long-time chairman and chief executive, who announced his decision to leave the company in August. At the time, EDS estimated Alberthal's sudden departure would cost the company $35 million.
Alberthal himself took the helm at EDS from company founder and former presidential candidate Ross Perot.
"Dick has an impressive record as a successful results-oriented change agent, with a strong background in strategy, operations and marketing," said James A. Baker III, chairman of the board's governance committee. "During his tenure as CEO of Cable & Wireless, he was remarkably effective in revitalizing and repositioning the company as a global telecommunications leader."
Brown will become the third chairman and chief executive of EDS in the company's 36-year history.
Alberthal, EDS' outgoing CEO, had been with the computer-services company for 30 years. He spent the last 12 as chief executive.
EDS serves clients in 47 countries and reported revenues of $15.2 billion last year.
Brown's career history includes more than 25 years in the telecommunications industry, among them, five years at Chicago-based Ameritech Corp., where he led a corporate restructuring that organized the company by product rather than geography.
Shares of EDS (EDS ) finished down 13/16 at 40-3/4 on the New York Stock Exchange. 
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