Brian Ulrich

 Michael Dell started Dell in his college dorm.  Recently going through hard times as the center of the tech industry has shifted from the PC to the Internet, Dell is struggling to find its place.  HP, IBM and other rivals acquired new companies and capabilities, while Dell stuck with cranking out PCs.  In 2005 Dell was valued at $100 billion, (more than HP and Apple combined) today it’s worth $30 billion.

 In 2007 the 44 year old Michael Dell returned to chief executive, determined to change almost everything about his 25 year old company.  Installed completely new management team.  Restructured to focus on customers.  Branching out into services, software, and new hardware categories. (Smartphones, Tablets)  Completely different from its old mastery of logistics and the supply chain. (selling PCs directly to customers and low prices)

 January 2007, Dell told his board it was time to replace Kevin B. Rollins, his hand-picked successor.  Dell’s net income dropped 28%, to $2.6 billion, for the fiscal year ending Feb. 2,  Hired Garriques who was head of Motorolla. He was responsible for the development of the razr.  Garriques went after a 42 year old designer at Nike to team up and develop new exciting things for Dell.

 Later in 2007, Dell broke tradition of only selling direct to customers. He announced that Dell would have machines in Walmart.  He turned to Brian Gladden, a 20-year veteran of GE, and the upholder of modern management.  He also agreed with restructuring around customers. (which is unusual for tech companies. They typically organize around the products they sell.)

 With the economy in crisis, Dell’s stock continued to plummet. It dropped to $25, then closed the year at $10.24, and kept dropping to an all-time low of just under $8.  October they began selling the world’s thinnest notebook, at 0.39 inches.  They expect to introduce its first Smartphones this year.  Dell shares have doubled since their low in February to $16.