New Compaq CEO says Europe, Alpha integration disappointing

Mike Capellas, Compaq's new CEO, said today that the European wing of the corporation is underperforming. In a conference call with European journalists and analysts today, Capellas said: "Europe has been a great area of strength for us." But he admitted the last few quarters in Europe had been disappointing. And he also said that he would accept Compaq had not been as clear on its strategy in Europe as it could have been, particularly on its direct/indirect strategies. He also admitted that Compaq had still a great deal of work to do on integrating its Digital business with its traditional business. Compaq has 300 global accounts he disclosed, not forgetting the 8000 major accounts it has, worldwide. He said: "There is work to be done. You have to get your sales forces together. You shouldn't have two groups doing the same thing. The last thing you want to do is to integrate your pricing structure and your financials." So there is a big problem then... The new CEO did not have time to take our question about how important he thought the Alpha chip was, something that Eckhard Pfeiffer and some Digital acolytes tripped over this time last year... ®