Chairman

Business
September 20, 2011
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HP may keep its PC business after all

By on September 20, 2011 at 3:40 PM.

HP may keep its PC business after all

In a recent interview with CRN, HP chairman Ray Lane outlined situations in which HP may hang on to its PC business. “If we don’t make that decision [to spin off], it’s because of two things: We can’t offer a better proposition to customers and investors,” Lane said. “If we can’t it stays inside HP.” If the company does decide to spin-off its personal systems group, Lane has suggested the company call it the “HP PC Business.” HP has the “largest and most profitable [PC] business in the world,” Lane explained during the InformationWeek 500 conference in California. “I am lobbying, and I don’t have to lobby very hard, to call it the HP PC Business. Call it HP. It will be a sister company,” Lane explained, pointing to HP’s spinoff of Agilent. “Agilent was a better business once spun off, because it was a very different business from what the rest of HP was doing.” Read on for more. More →

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Business
August 31, 2011
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FCC Chairman: ‘Serious concerns’ over impact of AT&T, T-Mobile merger

By on August 31, 2011 at 12:41 PM.

FCC Chairman: ‘Serious concerns’ over impact of AT&T, T-Mobile merger

In response to the U.S. government’s lawsuit against AT&T’s planned $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile, Federal Communications Commission chairman Julius Genachowski issued the following statement on behalf of the FCC :

By filing suit today, the Department of Justice has concluded that AT&T’s acquisition of T-Mobile would substantially lessen competition in violation of the antitrust laws. Competition is an essential component of the FCC’s statutory public interest analysis, and although our process is not complete, the record before this agency also raises serious concerns about the impact of the proposed transaction on competition. Vibrant competition in wireless services is vital to innovation, investment, economic growth and job creation, and to drive our global leadership in mobile. Competition fosters consumer benefits, including more choices, better service and lower prices.

AT&T responded to the DoJ lawsuit earlier and said that it plans to ask for an expedited hearing and is confident that the merger is “in the best interest of the consumers and our country.”

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mobile
August 2, 2011
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House Judiciary chairman Lamar Smith pledges support for AT&T, T-Mobile merger

By on August 2, 2011 at 5:25 PM.

House Judiciary chairman Lamar Smith pledges support for AT&T, T-Mobile merger

House Judiciary Committee chairman Lamar Smith wrote a letter to FCC chairman Julius Genachowski and Eric Holder, the Attorney General of the United States, on Tuesday expressing his support of AT&T’s planned $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile. Smith said he believes the FCC and the Department of Justice have only heard “one side of the story” from members of congress who provided “limited information” during recent briefings. Smith also said that his committee has “heard evidence” that the merger will:

Substantially improve the quality of the capacity of its broadband network thereby creating jobs an spurring innovation; use existing spectrum more efficiently to overcome the current spectrum shortage; expand its LTE mobile broadband Internet service to 97% of America including much of rural America; and provide better service to its customers thereby giving its competitors an incentive to improve their service.

Smith said any evidence from the congressional hearings that omits the aforementioned points “paints an incomplete picture.” Sprint has been one of the most vocal opponents of the merger and has said that, in contrast to creating jobs and innovation, the acquisition will “stifle” innovation in the U.S. Wireless market. Read on for more. More →

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Legal
July 11, 2011
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Google chairman Eric Schmidt to testify during Senate antitrust hearing

By on July 11, 2011 at 4:01 PM.

Google chairman Eric Schmidt to testify during Senate antitrust hearing

Google’s chairman and former CEO Eric Schmidt has agreed to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee’s antitrust subcommittee, Reuters reported on Monday. On June 24th, Google announced that the Federal Trade Commission would be reviewing its business practices. The search giant said it was “still unclear” as to what the FTC’s concerns were but that it would cooperate fully with the investigation. Watchdog groups such as Fairsearch.org have repeatedly accused Google of eangaging in anti-competitive behavior. “I look forward to discussing a number of important issues relating to Google and Internet search competition,” Senator Mike Lee, the lead Republican on the Judiciary Committee’s anti-trust subcommittee said. More →

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Business
July 7, 2011
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RIM accused of using ‘stall tactics’ to delay management changes

By on July 7, 2011 at 4:44 PM.

RIM accused of using ‘stall tactics’ to delay management changes

Despite agreeing to address concerns over the shared Co-CEO and Co-Chariman roles held by Research In Motion bosses Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis, the company again finds itself in hot water after a report from proxy advisor Glass Lewis & Co. was obtained by Bloomberg on Thursday. RIM announced in June that it would assemble a committee of independent directors to study the CEO and board roles, and then make recommendations as to whether or not the company should consider splitting the CEO and Chairman roles Balsillie and Lazaridis each currently hold. In its report, Glass Lewis wrote that the move was merely a stall tactic used to get Northwest & Ethical Investments LP to withdraw a motion it intended to put forward at RIM’s July shareholder meeting. “The appointment of independent board leadership does not require further study, but rather concrete action,” Glass Lewis analysts noted in their report. “While we commend the board for actively engaging with NEI in an attempt to reach a mutually agreeable solution, we are underwhelmed with the board’s continued avoidance of a commitment to appoint an independent chairman.” More →

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Business
June 11, 2011
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Investor proposes RIM splits CEO and board chairmen roles

By on June 11, 2011 at 12:21 PM.

Investor proposes RIM splits CEO and board chairmen roles

Reuters reported on Friday that Northern and Ethical Investments, an investor in Research In Motion, has called for a shareholder vote to decide if co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie should remain both co-chief executives and co-chairmen of the company’s board. Northern and Ethical Investments reportedly wants the Waterloo based company to have an independent board member. However, Reuters said RIM has already asked its shareholders to shoot down the vote, arguing that John Richardson is an independent member that “already acts as the de facto leader” of RIM’s board. If you’ll excuse us, we’re about to grab lunch with a co-sandwich, and co-french fries. More →

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General
March 10, 2011
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Clearwire CEO resigns, two more top execs will soon follow

By on March 10, 2011 at 5:54 PM.

Clearwire CEO resigns, two more top execs will soon follow

Clearwire on Thursday announced that CEO and director of the board Bill Morrow will resign effective immediately. Morrow cites personal reasons for his resignation and he will continue to serve as an advisor to the company while the interim CEO, chairman of the board John Stanton, transitions into his new role. “I would like to commend Bill for his tremendous leadership in building the first U.S. 4G network, adding more than 5 million subscribers, and raising funds in a challenging economic environment,” Stanton said in a statement. “Bill built a strong leadership team which enables us to promote Erik Prusch and Hope Cochran to new roles. Together, the entire management team at Clearwire remains focused on delivering value to its customers and shareholders.” Two other top Clearwire executives, Chief Information Officer Kevin Hart and Chief Commercial Officer Mike Sievert, will be leaving the company as well. Hit the break for the full press release. More →

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Business
September 13, 2010
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Nokia's chief of mobile solutions resigns

By on September 13, 2010 at 8:32 AM.

Nokia's chief of mobile solutions resigns

The timing of the following announcement is a little shocking, with Nokia’s worldwide conference — Nokia World — set to kick off tomorrow, but it does seem to indicate that the world’s top handset OEM is not going to settle for business as usual any longer. Today, Nokia announced that Anssi Vajoki — the company’s head of mobile solutions — will resign, effective in six months. Vajoki has been with Nokia since 1991 and has been in his current role since 2008. The move comes just days after the replacement of current CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo with former Microsoft executive Stephen Elop. Nokia’s chairman, Jorma Ollila, said that he too would step down once the CEO transition was complete. More →

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