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IBM moves CFO to head online business unit

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CIOL Bureau
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In an attempt to boost its ability to compete with Dell Computer, which sells most of its products directly over the Internet, IBM has re-assigned chief financial officer Doug Maine to head TeleWeb, the recently created unit that will handle Web sales and customer service call centres for IBM. The appointment of Maine, who will report to IBM Senior Vice President William Etherington, means the company is committing a heavy doze of executive talent to the growing problem of having to compete with Dell.



IBM, like Compaq, is suffering from slow sales growth, only 5.2 per cent in the third quarter, whereas Dell had a 42 per cent increase sales. Just last month, IBM announced it is getting out of the unprofitable business of selling desktop PCs in the United States through the computer retail store channel. Instead it will sell computer to consumers exclusively through its Web site.



At TeleWeb, Maine will manage a group with several thousand employees. TeleWeb will combine and oversee IBM's extensive customer service call center and corporate Web management operations Analysts said they had expected Maine to move from his CFO position even though Maine joined IBM only 16 months ago. He joined IBM from MCI Communications where he also was CFO. But, Maine was expected to move in to sales management. "This has been in the works since I walked in the door,'' Maine said. "Web and telephone sales will help us be more efficient and improve our speed to market."



"When Doug joined IBM, it was with the understanding that he would move from the CFO position to a line-management position somewhere in the organization," Gerstner said. "I am pleased he will be able to use his strong telecommunications skills in this new position." Analysts also said the position of CFO at IBM has become far less critical than it was in 1993 when Lou Gerstner took over as chairman and IBM was losing billions of dollars per quarter. Gerstner and CFO Jerome York rebuild IBM into a highly profitable organizations, making the CFO position a more administrative function. Maine will be replaced as CFO by John Joyce, currently general manager of IBM's Asia-Pacific region.

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