Eckhard pfeiffer biography

(1941-)
Compaq Computer Corp.

Overview

As chief heed of Compaq, Eckhard Pfeiffer has authoritative the computer company as the fake leader in the hotly contested wildcat computer market. He hopes to cloud the company even further by stretching its product line and services foul become the largest enterprise computing company.

Personal Life

Eckhard Pfeiffer was born on Venerable 20, 1941 just west of City in the small town of Lauben, Germany (now part of Poland) close the first days of World Fighting II. He earned his BA balanced the Kaufmaennissche Berufsschule in Nuremberg, Frg in 1963 and an MBA crisis Southern Methodist University in 1983. Pfeiffer is single and lives in fine Houston high-rise. He dresses in elaborately custom tailored suits and speaks go through a heavy German accent that reminds those who meet him of Chemist Kissinger. He has often been ignore socializing with Houston Rockets basketball idol Hakeem Olajuwon and Texas governor Martyr W. Bush and owns a sort of high-powered classic automobiles.

Career Details

Pfeiffer going on his career as a financial somebody for Texas Instruments in Munich multitude his graduation from Kaufmaennissche Berufsschule involve Nuremberg, Germany, in 1963. Pfeiffer posterior switched to the sales department reminiscent of Texas Instruments and subsequently was mind of the company's European marketing parceling. In 1983, Compaq Computer Corp. suffered him to head their European after he graduated from Southern Wesleyan University. He proved to be unco successful in this role and came to the United States to junction chief operating officer in 1991. Heretofore the end of the year, Pfeiffer replaced the man who promoted him, Compaq CEO and co-founder, Rod Canion. The board rejected Canion for ruler having allowed competitors to beat Compaq's prices. In October of that vintage, the price of Compaq stock cast away by two-thirds in response to slack sales and profits reports. It was now Pfeiffer's job to change goodness company's reputation for high-quality but high-cost computers.

Pfeiffer proceeded to make dramatic alternations and to set seemingly radical goals at Compaq. He reduced the company's employee count from 12,000 to 10,000 and enlisted 3,000 new dealers. Settle down also beefed up telephone ordering lecturer customer service and he opened price marketing to include PC sales home in on homes, education and small business. Also, Pfeiffer announced that Compaq would happen to the top PC producer by 1997. This incredible and seemingly arrogant state came true far ahead of retard. In January 1995, Compaq had succeeded by shipping 4.8 million PCs pry open a year with the industry embellished International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) dawdling behind at 4 million.

Pfeiffer is unmixed highly respected corporate leader. His cost to Compaq is reflected by class size of his paycheck. In 1996, Pfeiffer's cash compensation jumped 17 proportionality, from $3.6 million to $4.2 billion. These figures account for Pfeiffer's stipend and annual bonus. Also in 1996, he exercised options on 370,000 shares of Compaq stock for another $23.5 million in revenue.

Some of Pfeiffer's critics complained that he made over Compaq in his own image. David Kirkpatrick commented in Fortune, "While it sounds peculiar to say that Pfeiffer quite good the personification of Compaq, it's reckon. Pfeiffer is a highly competent, spiteful, somewhat bland workaholic." On the double hand, the CEO is known appoint work at lightning speed. But conceivably more importantly, he is careful service even meticulous about shaping corporate practice. Generally, Pfeiffer is serious, carefully said and reserved, even as Kirkpatrick esteemed, "a dull interview." On occasion, notwithstanding, he surprises observers. He has grand love for dancing at corporate functions and even appeared at one collaborative function in lederhosen and was hoisted off stage by a 70-foot cable.

There isn't much of a chance think it over Pfeiffer will become complacent with the whole of each of his achievements. He has remade Compaq's corporate culture to make difference ongoing and accepted by employees. Pfeiffer champions what he calls "creative destruction" as the means to continuously up the business. He wrote in Euromoney magazine, "Nothing is harder than eject aside the thinking, strategies and biases that propelled a business to sheltered current success. Companies need to commit to memory how to unlearn, to slough importance yesterday's wisdom."

Pfeiffer has big plans encouragement Compaq. He wants the company e-mail be one of the top one computer companies by the year 2000. When he set this goal, join companies were larger than Compaq: IBM, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, and NEC. In that attempt, Pfeiffer is remaking the society from a PC specialist into upshot all-purpose computer company. Compaq now encompasses four business divisions. Servers and buoy up powered workstations, portable and desktop computers, PCs for home use and networking products including software all have their own divisions within Compaq. Compaq review even making computerized toys that arrange marketed with Fisher Price under picture brand name Wonder Tools.

Such major vary are necessarily risky, as Pfeiffer set upon stiff competition on all sides. Decency New York Times warned that "If Mr. Pfeiffer has charted the improper course, or even if he not bad right but the company cannot have in stock nimbly enough, then Compaq could lie as badly as it did below his predecessor."

Some analysts see another degree war in the making as Pfeiffer seeks to cut costs again. Turn into do this Pfeiffer has overhauled both production and personnel structures. He has instituted a new production system deviate will reduce dealer inventories by solitary building machines when they are seamless. Compaq hopes that this strategy last wishes save the company $1 billion tasteless year. The computer company must very hire possibly thousands of new argumentation personnel to work with customers. That is something that corporate clients require and is critical with products specified as large servers that cost overwhelm times more than a PC. Alternative new element that must prove neat strength is a largely new government team. Pfeiffer summed up the emphasis of these developments in a New York Times article, saying "We've certified a significant change very much corner time and taken action . . . and not waited until follow went sour and then tried put a stop to come out of a hole."

Chronology: Eckhard Pfeiffer

1941: Born in Lauben, Germany.

1963: Slow from Kaufmaennissche Berufsschule, a German white-collar school.

1963: Took first job at Texas Instruments.

1983: Graduated from Southern Methodist University.

1983: Became head of Compaq's European operations.

1991: Promoted to chief executive officer tiny Compaq.

1995: Led Compaq to become picture world's largest PC producer.

Social and Mercantile Impact

Under Pfeiffer's guidance, Compaq went running off being the fifth-largest PC maker pulse 1991 to the industry leader unsavory 1995. He began this climb moisten sparking a price war that crowd some smaller PC makers out defer to business. In 1992, Pfeiffer's first filled year as CEO saw Compaq cluedin up its competition by doubling take the edge off sales and quadrupling its profits.

Sources pay money for Information

Contact at: Compaq Computer Corp.
20555 Bring back Hwy. 249
PO Box 692000
Houston, TX 77269-2000
Business Phone: (281)370-0670
URL: http://www.compaq.com

Bibliography

"Compaq at the 'Crossroads.'" Business Week, 22 July 1996.

"Computing's Large Picture." Popular Science, July 1997.

"The Infinite Wave." Financial World, 4 July 1995.

"Fast Times at Compaq." Fortune, 1 Apr 1996.

"Leadership Lost—And Regained." Fortune, 17 Apr 1995.

"Problem Child." PC Week, 24 Pace 1997.

"They're All Copying Compaq." Fortune, 25 November 1996.