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Conference 7.286::digital

Title:	The Digital way of working

Moderator:	QUARK::LIONELON

Created:	Fri Feb 14 1986
Last Modified:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	5321
Total number of notes:	139771

3895.0. "Palmer Named Chairman of the Board" by SSDEVO::THOMPSON (Paul Thompson, Colorado Springs) Mon May 22 1995 18:56

Worldwide News                                LIVE WIRE
Date: 22-May-1995
Robert B. Palmer elected chairman of Digital's Board of Directors 
   
         Digital today announced the election of President and Chief 
   Executive Officer Robert B. Palmer as Chairman of the Board.  

         Palmer continues as president and chief executive officer of 
   Digital, a position he assumed in October 1992.  "I'm pleased with 
   the Board's continued confidence in this management team and our plans 
   for Digital's future, which we believe is very bright," he said.

         Palmer joined Digital in 1985 as the manager of Semiconductor 
   Operations.  The following year, he was appointed vice president, 
   Semiconductor Operations; and in 1989 he became vice president, 
   Semiconductor and Interconnect Technology.  

         In 1990, Palmer became vice president, Manufacturing and 
   Logistics.  Early in 1992, his responsibilities expanded as vice 
   president, Manufacturing, Logistics, and Component Engineering.  In 
   that capacity, he was responsible for all elements of worldwide 
   manufacturing, as well as the engineering and manufacturing of 
   semiconductors, PCs, terminals and printers.

         Before joining Digital, Palmer served as executive vice president 
   of Semiconductor Operations at United Technologies Corp.  He joined 
   United Technologies in 1980 when it acquired Mostek Corp., a company 
   he co-founded with a group of fellow engineers from Texas Instruments 
   in 1969.

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
3895.1	Congratulations, Bob	HLDE01::VUURBOOM_R	Roelof Vuurboom @ APD, DTN 829 4066	`Tue May 23 1995 05:53`	1

3895.2	Pesatori for COO?	MAIL1::HARRISON		`Tue May 23 1995 09:29`	13
	Wonder if there is another shoe....Pesatori for COO? As we make the turn, Mr. Palmer needs to focus on the employees who will grow this Company again. It is a tall task to be short term operational one day and a visionary and leader the next. I, for one, would like to see Bob continue to focus on programs like the matching 401k, incentive programs and any other motivational programs he deems necessary. Congrats to our first Chairman of the Board! BH
3895.3		PLAYER::BROWNL	Tyro-Delphi-hacker	`Tue May 23 1995 09:36`	3
	Yep, just goes to show what a coupla notes in ::DIGITAL can for for you! Cheers, Laurie.
3895.4	Best to Bob Palmer !	GRANPA::JNOSTIN		`Tue May 23 1995 10:41`	5
	By best to Bob Palmer. He has done more for Digital as President and CEO than anyone has done in a long while. He continues to direct Digital down the road to success. It's been a long time coming, but certainly worth the wait. All our efforts to make Digital prosperous again are paying off.
3895.5	What is the impact ?	WOTVAX::RANDEE::morrison		`Tue May 23 1995 11:04`	14
	Could someone explain the different role of:- Chairman ... President ... CEO ... ? While pleased for Bob, I'm not sure of the implications. Thanks in anticipation. Randall (NOTE: I didn't ask for an explanation of the role of Vice President)
3895.6	RE: -1	NYAAPS::CORBISHLEY	David Corbishley 323-4376	`Tue May 23 1995 11:31`	10
	Chairman or Chairperson of the Board of Directors, is as you might expect, head of the Board. Calls meetings, runs the meeting, etc. Board represents shareholders. President is traditional 'head' of company, often called Managing Director (?) in some countries. CEO - Chief Executive Officer, similar to President, but may have narrower role, i.e. we now have CFO (Chief Financial Officer), COO (Chief Operating Officer), etc.
3895.7		NOTIME::SACKS	Gerald Sacks ZKO2-3/N30 DTN:381-2085	`Tue May 23 1995 12:22`	1
	If there was no chairman until now, who ran the board meetings?
3895.8		ODIXIE::MURDOCK	eltico...	`Tue May 23 1995 15:51`	10
	Phewwww.... Can Bob spell F A S T T R A C K.......!!!! Sorry that I am in the "breakdown lane..." :-)
3895.9	HE'S HIS OWN BOSS.....	WMOIS::HORNE_C	HORNET-THE FALL GUY	`Wed May 24 1995 10:09`	5
	....As chairman of the board....would make BOB BOB's boss...cool!!! horNET
3895.10		QUARK::LIONEL	Free advice is worth every cent	`Wed May 24 1995 11:18`	6
	Apparently the board hasn't had a chairman for a number of years. This move puzzles me - it strikes me as a conflict of interest. Isn't the board of directors responsible for overseeing the CEO? Steve
3895.11		PCBUOA::KRATZ		`Wed May 24 1995 11:24`	3
	It's a vote of confidence from the board. It's also a nice 5-10% raise for Bob, assuming standard $50k-100k boardmember retainer fee. KB
3895.12		TOOK::MORRISON	Bob M. LKG1-3/A11 226-7570	`Wed May 24 1995 11:31`	12
	>This move puzzles me - it strikes me as a conflict of interest. Isn't the >board of directors responsible for overseeing the CEO? I think there are many precedents for the same person being chairman and CEO of a large company. Re who calls board meetings if there is no chairman: There is probably a protocol for this for U.S. companies; I don't know what it is. Was KO ever chairman? I don't think so, at least not since the very early days. I see the appointment of BP as chairman as a largely symbolic move, a vote of confidence in his ability to lead the company. But a very strong symbol, especially for the public.
3895.13		NOTIME::SACKS	Gerald Sacks ZKO2-3/N30 DTN:381-2085	`Wed May 24 1995 12:03`	5
	> I think there are many precedents for the same person being chairman and CEO >of a large company. Four of the members of the Digital BOD are listed as "retired CEO and chairman of ..."
3895.14	Palmer Named Chairman of the Board	FREMP::ACQUAH		`Wed May 24 1995 12:40`	1
	KO was chairman of the board before from both post. ie CEO and board Chairman.
3895.15		ATLANT::SCHMIDT	E&RT -- Embedded and RealTime Engineering	`Wed May 24 1995 14:23`	3
	Except KO never accepted the title "CEO". He was just the "President". Atlant
3895.16	...until now	ALFA1::WS19::HARRIS		`Wed May 24 1995 14:58`	7
	KO was never chairman of the board. Digital never had a chairman of the board until now. BP could continue to occupy both positions of chairman and president, or this could conceivably open the presidency to .... M
3895.17	Who's looking over YOUR shoulder?	NEWVAX::PAVLICEK	Zot, the Ethical Hacker	`Wed May 24 1995 19:24`	6
	A previous employer (large media corporation) had one man as CEO and Chairman of the Board. When he retired as CEO, he kept his position of Chairman (which, I'm sure, gave the new CEO a warm and fuzzy feeling -- NOT!). -- Russ
3895.18		NYAAPS::CORBISHLEY	David Corbishley 323-4376	`Fri May 26 1995 12:42`	7
	Having the CEO or President as Chairman of the Board is not uncommon. Not sure if Chairman has a vote. As they oversee all employees, that would include Bob Palmer too. With most companies, internal Board members do not get additional compensation as external Board members do.
3895.19	Congratulations, Bob...	POBOX::CORSON	Higher, and a bit more to the right	`Tue May 30 1995 12:02`	6
	It's mostly a vote of confidence by the BOD in RP's strategy for Digital. Yes, he is his own boss (but then he's been that since he was 15...) the Greyhawk
3895.20	GATES	CSLALL::JSTONE		`Tue May 30 1995 13:35`	1
	Bill Gates - chairman and president. Not at all unusual.
3895.21	ring Irony alert ...	HANNAH::BECK	Paul Beck, MicroPeripherals	`Tue May 30 1995 15:16`	2
	I'm not sure I'd put "Bill Gates" and "Not at all unusual" on the same line, myself...
3895.22	More than one vote?	POLAR::PARKER	Great White North!	`Tue May 30 1995 17:38`	3
	Just curious, but how many votes would Bob have on the BOD? Roy
3895.23		WMOIS::HORNE_C	HORNET-THE FALL GUY	`Wed May 31 1995 10:11`	4
	...remember folks BILL (i am the king) GATES is a former DIGIT...... hOrNEt
3895.24	Bill G a DIGIT ? Perhaps tha'ts whats wrong with us ?	STAR::PARKE	True Engineers Combat Obfuscation	`Wed May 31 1995 10:54`	9
	Re: .23 HUH ? This is the first I've heard Bill G. referred to as a former DIGIT. I have heard that he used a -10 somewhere to do his BASIC system for the MITS though.
3895.25	I don't think so	HANNAH::BECK	Paul Beck, MicroPeripherals	`Wed May 31 1995 10:55`	3
	He may have gotten his start plugging TOPS-10 bugs, but as far as I know, Gates never worked for DEC. I think you're getting him confused with Dave Cutler (and don't let Dave hear you do that).
3895.26		AXEL::FOLEY	Rebel without a Clue	`Wed May 31 1995 16:59`	5
	RE: .25 There would just be another hole in the wall... mike
3895.27		STAR::PARKE	True Engineers Combat Obfuscation	`Thu Jun 01 1995 10:18`	7
	I heard Microsoft has made a special office for Cutler, in the shape of one of those geodesic domed hourse. Any non horizontal surface is considered a "wall". Seems 4 was not enough. (Hows that for a rumor }8-)} ) Bill
3895.28	And he is	COVERT::COVERT	John R. Covert	`Mon Jun 05 1995 16:14`	3
	Makes it so much easier to be really off the wall. /john
3895.29		CHEFS::CARTERC		`Tue Jun 06 1995 03:50`	27
	Whilst it is common for the Chairman and CEO to be one and the same person it is a subject of great debate in current 'management thinking'. Whilst in Seattle last year I took a class on 'CEO's' and in the current US management literature it appeared that it is not recommended for the CEO to be the Chairman. The main reasoning is that the Board is there to oversee on the shareholders behalf the running of the company. The board also determines the CEO's salary... If board members think there is something amiss in the CEO's running of the company it is much more difficult for them to do anything about it if the CEO is also Chairman of the board. The articles I read said that it can lead to 'sub-groups' discussing things in private instead of having open and frank board meetings. Can't comment on the truth of these statements, I just thought it was interesting as this move appears to go against current thinking. Xtine