Conference 7.286::digital

How many VPs does this make? :-)

			Steve

    More than a bank!

    I'll see your bank and raise you one Federal Reserve.
    
    Seriously, I have seen a number of V.P. announcements as of late, and
    it would be interesting to know the number.
    
    Mav

More interesting is the fact that, as far as I can recall, is the first time in Digital history 
that a VP in charge of just SW reports directly to the CEO.

I just hope that the rest of the Corp. doesn't drag that group down. And also that 
they have some significant budget to invest.

Time will tell

/OLD

    
    
    Not the first time, Bill Hefner as Veep of VMS reported to Olsen as did
    Dave Stone. In fact 4 years ago Dave Stone owned most of the Software
    development in the company (directly or indirectly) and his goal
    (dream) was to make Digital a Software Company.
    
    Its interesting that Digital was able to attract someone from the
    Commoditity Software business; I expect she must have been given a lot
    of control over investment, products and strategies. Also, it will be
    intersting to see what group(s) end up being part of this new
    Connectivity Business Unit.
    
    

    
    I asked someone at Lotus and they said she left Lotus over a year ago.
    Was she working somewhere else in between?
    
    Jon
    

I know it's trendy to complain about VPs, but we knew this one was coming.
The CSBU was recently created and needed someone to head it up.

Ilene Lang left Lotus recently as far as I know (after Manzi).  I've heard 
glowing reports about her.

j.

    I'm glad someone in this series stopped counting VP's and 
    looked at how this position adds strength and proof points to
    our intention to be a leader in connectivity software and
    services - not to mention her excellent track record and
    reputation.
    

    
    I also heard great things about her skills...  Onward and
    upward...
    
    Revenue growth and profit are important. The specifics of the
    organization that make it happen don't interest anyone (# VPs')
    
    Jon

    To continue the # of VP rathole....
    
    Just saw that AT&T is going to offer buy-out packages to 50% of their
    managers....a total of somewhere around 75,000 people.....They have
    150,000 managers....total employee population...300,000.....a 1-1 ratio
    of managers to peons.....Digital doesn't look that bad after all....
    
    Debbie
    

    
    Re. -1.
    
    Clarification:
    
    AT&T doesn't have 150,000 managers.  Any non-union employee is
    considered a "management" employee.  Management employees are being
    offered the buyout.
    
    FWIW,
    Mark

    
     
      Isn't AT&T a union company?  If so,  "manager"  may really mean
    "management" which is a generic term applied to all non-union
    workers.
    
    
    							-al
    

    Thanks for the clarification on the terms. The article did mention the
    word supervisors in conjunction with managers, which led me to believe
    they were "real" managers.
    
    Debbie
    

    VERY positive feature on Ilene Lang on page 1 of today's Boston Globe.
    The more I read about her, the happier I am that she has joined
    Digital.
    
    					Steve

    Would some scanner-equipped person be kind enough to enter it here?
    
    Thx.

    I'll give it a go.  BTW, it's on the first page of the business
    section, not page 1.
    
    				Steve

[Boston Globe][Business]

     A Nontechie on Top: Digital networking chief looks to energize new unit

     By Jon Auerbach, Globe Staff, 11/17

     The year was 1965 and Ilene H. Lang, fresh out of Radcliffe and crammed
     with esoteric knowledge about Renaissance literature and history, had just
     one professional goal: a job that paid more than $100 a week.

     Lang didn't ``know what computers were,'' but studying prose did teach her
     a thing or two about the written word, which helped the energetic young
     woman from Chicago land a job as a technical writer at a small Arlington
     firm.

     The position, which entailed pounding away at reports on a company
     typewriter and editing stories from ``people who couldn't write at all,''
     didn't meet Lang's modest salary requirements.

     But it was a start.

     Thirty years and a handful of jobs later, Ilene Lang, the nontechie who
     boasts she didn't get her hands onto a personal computer until the early
     '80s, is sitting atop the techie world.

     On Tuesday, the former senior vice president at Lotus Development Corp.
     was named to head up a newly formed software unit at Digital Equipment
     Corp. As vice president of Digital's connectivity software business, Lang,
     52, will report directly to chairman Robert B. Palmer.

     ``Ilene has an amazing ability to get people excited,'' said June Rokoff,
     senior vice president of Lotus' worldwide services group. ``I don't think
     she had any fear. She goes into a tough situation and will just dig and
     say we will solve this problem.''

     And clearly, Digital is counting on Lang to do just that.

     The giant Maynard-based computer maker is fighting its way back from a
     four-year string of financial losses, which ended a year ago. Palmer has
     set ambitious goals for his company, and he has shown that he is not
     afraid to roll heads if targets are not met.

     Lang's mandate is to steer the Digital ship toward what is known as
     ``connectivity,'' an industry phrase that means allowing an array of
     people and computers to communicate at any time, and from any place.

     For Digital and most of the other large hardware and software companies
     around the world, choosing which network strategy, or strategies, to
     develop is betting on the future of the entire industry. It is not a
     gamble Digital is keen to lose.

     ``We are in a position to build a really strong breakthrough company,''
     Lang said earlier this week, sipping a Diet Coke at one of Digital's
     sprawling buildings. ``Networking is going to change the way business is
     going to be conducted. People are ready for being able to interact.''

     Lang, who begins at Digital later this month, said she's still adjusting
     to her role as an executive at one of the biggest computer corporations in
     the world. ``I always thought I was a small company person,'' Lang said,
     laughing at the irony. ``But having size and scale means you can do a
     better and bigger job. You can just do more.''

     Despite an enthusiasm to do more, Lang is quick to stress that she's no
     workaholic. ``I definitely have a life outside of my job.''

     An avid skier and reader, Lang presides over a family of speedskaters. Her
     husband, a Harvard-trained computer consultant, is the best over-50
     short-track speedskater in the country. Lang's daughter Sarah, 18, is on
     the US national short-track team, and hopes to compete in the 1998 Olympic
     games. And daughter Penelope, 15, and son Edmund, 12, are both budding
     junior racers.

     Though Lang had hoped to take some time off after leaving Lotus, she said
     her family supports her decision to take the Digital post. ``They think
     it's just great,'' she said.

     For her part, Lang said she sees one of her jobs at Digital as being a
     role model for women inside the corporation. ``At the most senior levels
     of companies, there are not enough women,'' she said.

     The daughter of a businessman and a homemaker (``I was their oldest son,''
     she laughed), Lang grew up in Chicago, coming East in the early '60s to
     attend Radcliffe College, where she spent four years poring over thick
     tomes on history and literature.

     After graduating in 1965, Lang married her husband, Ed, who was then
     attending Harvard Business School. At the time, Ed Lang was working at PHI
     in Arlington, and helped her land her first job doing technical writing.
     (Lang said she reached her $100 per week goal in 1967).

     ``The industry was so desperate for talented and educated people that they
     would even hire women,'' Lang laughed.

     In the early '70s, Lang enrolled at Harvard Business School. Apparently,
     however, the rigorous course work wasn't enough to keep her frenetic mind
     occupied. While attending school, she and a partner, Karen Swain, started
     Frameworks, a do-it-yourself picture framing shop in Cambridge. A year
     later, Lang started The Big Picture Inc., a Cambridge-based photography
     shop.

     In 1982, Lang had her first taste of computers, taking a job at Symbolics
     Inc., then a leader in developing software and hardware for artificial
     intelligence. After stints at Adelie Corp., a software company in Newton
     later purchased by AT&TCorp., and the Michigan-based Industrial Technology
     Institute, she landed at Lotus in 1993, heading up its international
     product development team.

     At Lotus, Lang quickly developed a reputation for ``around-the-clock
     energy,'' Rokoff said. ``She could be on a red-eye all night and show up
     at a presentation the next morning ready to go.''

     Early in her term at Lotus, Lang decided to overhaul the company's
     traditional strategy of delaying the launches of foreign language versions
     of Lotus software. ``Ilene said right away `We're going to do this
     simultaneously,''' Rokoff recalled.

     Lang, who left Lotus in September, two months after it was bought by IBM,
     was not only bull-headed. She also won plaudits from colleagues as a
     consummate team leader.

     Spending countless days each year flying throughout Europe and Asia, Lang
     would rarely neglect a colleague's personal life. If a Lotus worker in a
     foreign country had a baby, ``Lang would show up with a baby present,''
     said Kevin Cavanaugh, who worked under Lang and now heads the
     international product development unit at Lotus.

     After being told on a Friday afternoon about two years ago that a company
     budget they submitted was unacceptable, Cavanaugh and Lang worked all
     weekend to correct the problem. ``On Monday morning, my wife called and
     said she [Lang] just sent flowers saying thanks for putting up with the
     crazy weekend,'' Cavanaugh said.

     This story ran on page 73 of the Boston Globe on 11/17.

FYI, you can read Boston Globe articles on the Web, http://www.boston.com/ and
follow the links to the Globe, or try http://www.boston.com/globe/

    Darn - should have looked there before spending all the time to scan
    and OCR the article.  Ah well...
    
    				Steve

.
.
.
     For her part, Lang said she sees one of her jobs at Digital as being a
     role model for women inside the corporation. ``At the most senior levels
     of companies, there are not enough women,'' she said.
                                 ^^^^^^^^^^^^
.
.
.                                 
I was just wondering, what is "enough" in this context? When would you
know? Is this quantifiable? 

Art

> I was just wondering, what is "enough" in this context? When would you
> know? Is this quantifiable? 

I think "enough" in this context means a sufficient number to have a
significant (equal?) influence on the way corporations think and
respond at every level.

- Peter

    	Thank goodness she didn't say that there aren't enough MEN at the
    senior levels of the company, or someone would have her butt in a
    sling. 

    
    I really like the sound of that interview. How many times did the
    reported wrote "she laughed"... that alone is refreshing! Sounds like
    a very level headed midwesterner to me.
    
    Of course the irony of all this is .... haven't we been in Networking
    all along? Of course today Sun is the Networking company, according to
    Scott M :-(
    
    Did we lose our (networking) way, and Ilene will resurrect us?

    Re.10
    .....Digital doesn't look that bad after all.
    
    We have today, December 13, 1995 a total of 178 vice presidents on a
    population of approx. 61,700
    
    This is no joke !
    

    As the below indicates, new VP Ilene Lang has just named her first VP
    (Jeanette Horan). So the total number of VPs grows.
    
    [Note: I'm not implying that Ilene Lang doesn't have the right to name
    new VPs nor that Jeanette Horan doesn't deserve the honor.]
    
    /s/ MarkB
    
From:	ATGAXP::"[email protected]" 13-DEC-1995 02:39:17.31
To:	[email protected], share::caldwell, pndvue::chardon,
    	pndvue::christ, [email protected],
    	[email protected], pndvue::holleran,
    	[email protected], [email protected],
    	[email protected], [email protected],
    	stowoa::rando, [email protected],
    	pndvue::strecker, share::kallen, pndvue::carleton, pndvue::dyer,
    	[email protected], [email protected],
    	pndvue::odea
CC:
Subj:	CSBU Organization Announcement--Please distribute widely


To:             Corporate management, CSD management, ATG management, CSBU team
From:         Ilene H. Lang
Subject:     CSBU Organization Announcement


I am pleased to announce three CSBU management appointments, effective
immediately:

Technical Director      Bill Laing, Corporate Consulting Engineer

Bill joined Digital in 1981 from Edinburgh University, spending five years
in the U.S. and the rest in Europe.  Bill has made signficant contributions
to VMS systems performance analysis, VAXcluster design and development,
operating systems development, and transaction processing.  He has been
technical director of OpenVMS engineering, technical director for
engineering in Europe, and most recently was in the Technology and
Architecture group of the Computer Systems Division focusing on software.

As a corporate consulting engineer, Bill is recognized as one of the senior
leaders of Digital.  He has been instrumental in forming the CSBU concept,
vision, and program.


VP, Product Development         Jeanette Horan

Jeanette brings 19 years of experience in software product development and
business management to this position, most recently as director of Business
Operations for the Software Business Group.  Jeanette joined Digital in
April 1994 from the Open Software Foundation where she was responsible for
delivery of the OSF/1 operating system and OSF/Motif.

Jeanette's promotion to vice president in the CSBU recognizes the breadth of
her background, contributions, and leadership.  During the transition to the
new CSBU organization, Jeanette will also continue her responsiblities for
the Software Business Practices group and the Software Pricing Committee,
supporting all Digital software organizations.


VP, Business Development and Strategic Alliances        Gerard van de Aast

Gerard joined Digital in 1991 with the acquisition of Philips Information
Systems, where he held the position of Software Business Development
Manager.  He has been a manager in both Europe and the U.S., most recently
as vice president of Enterprise Software.  Gerard's 16 years in the software
industry include entrepreneurial, technical, marketing, and sales
experience.  He has demonstrated commitment to revenue growth,
profitability, and customer satisfaction.


In addition, a search for a vice president of Marketing and Sales is
underway.  Members of the CSBU launch team will continue to work with the
CSBU management team on all aspects of strategy and execution.


Over the next few weeks, Bill, Jeanette, and Gerard will be pulling their
teams together.  Please offer them your continuing support.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for welcoming me
to Digital, for making yourselves available, and for being so supportive of
the CSBU agenda.  I look forward to meeting with many more of you over the
next weeks and months.

--Ilene

    Whoop, they're screwing up my records
    
    To the figure of 178 vice presidents of yesterday, we have to add 2
    more, Jeanette Horan and Ray Humphrey (cfr. LIVEWIRE 13-DEC-95)
    
    Total number of VP's now is 180  !!!!!

    Second update for today.
    
    I didn't consider the changes in the latest update of ATOZ (Corporate
    VTX) of 27-NOV-95 which gives the names of several new VP's.
    
    Anyway, total number of VP's now is 185
    
    		Cheers,
    
    			Frans 

    looks like we seem to be able to manufacture VPs faster than PCs !
    maybe the PCBU should start substituting shipping VPs for Starions :^)
    

    Ahh, certainly sir, your needs will be met perfectly by our latest
    greatest  "DECpc el VP plus" model. They're a couple of generations out
    of date now but, trust me, it'll do everything you need, and that's
    how we feel able to charge the same price for it as current models from
    the opposition. And to ensure complete customer sqatisfaction we have a
    choice of almost 200 in stock now, available for immediate delivery
    ready for turkey at christmas.

    Since we benchmark ourselves with our competitors in many other areas,
    does anyone have objective data to compare our VP/pp, VP/$B, VP/sq.
    ft., VP/ton, with IBM, HP, uSOFT, Compaq, etc.? 

    Re: .29
    
    Better check VTX CEO, part number FR-PA7WF-AA   :-) :-)
    
    	Owen. 

    Spetember 95, Palmer announces reorg/stategy, including the
    	Connectivity Software Business Unit
    
    November 95, Palmer announces hiring Ilene Lang to head CSBU
    
    Dec/Jan 95/96, Ilene sheds major chunks of CSBU, creates ISBU
    
    Mar(ish) 96, ISBU starts building infrastructure to move off Easynet
    
    ??? 96, ISBU sheds a bit more, including TFSO's
    
    Jul 96, Palmer announces staff reduction/charge against earnings
    
    Aug 96, formation of AltaVista Inc announced
    

> September 95, Palmer announces reorg/stategy, including the
>   Connectivity Software Business Unit
> 
> November 95, Palmer announces hiring Ilene Lang to head CSBU
> 
> Dec/Jan 95/96, Ilene sheds major chunks of CSBU, creates ISBU
> 
> Mar(ish) 96, ISBU starts building infrastructure to move off Easynet
> 
> ??? 96, ISBU sheds a bit more, including TFSO's
> 
> Jul 96, Palmer announces staff reduction/charge against earnings
> 
> Aug 96, formation of AltaVista Inc announced

  It really makes you believe all those high-fallutin' statements
  about "strategic directions" and "core competencies" and such,
  doesn't it?
                                   Atlant

I really am beginning to believe that "divestiture" is our ''core competency''.

BobW

>================================================================================
>Note 4274.33  Ilene Lang to head the Connectivity S/W Business Unit     33 of 33
>ATLANT::SCHMIDT "See http://atlant2.zko.dec.com/"    19 lines  28-AUG-1996 12:13
>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>  It really makes you believe all those high-fallutin' statements
>  about "strategic directions" and "core competencies" and such,
>  doesn't it?
>                                   Atlant