Lenovo Ousts CEO Amelio; Dec. Qtr Sales Down 20%

Lenovo Group , the Hong Kong PC maker best known for making the the ThinkPad brand laptops once produced by IBM , posted weak results for its fiscal third quarter ended December and booted its CEO, William Amelio , giving the top job to the company’s chairman and former CEO, Yang Yuanqing . Lenovo founder Liu Chaunzhi returns to the company as the new chairman. Lenovo also named Rory Read , who had been SVP of operations, to the new post of president and COO. The changes are effective today. Amelio, a former Dell exec, stays on as an advisor until September. The company posted sales of $3.59 billion in the quarter, down 20% year over year, with a loss attributale to shareholders of $97 million, or $1.09 a share. That includes some restructuring charges. Lenovo said its worldwide PC shipments in the quarter were down 5% year over year due to a continued decrease in worldwide commercial PC shipments, particularly at the high end, and a 7% decline in China’s PC market.  ... (link)