The Gateway Inc. board of directors named chairman and long-time director Rick Snyder as the company's interim chief executive officer following the resignation of Wayne Inouye.
Snyder, a former Gateway president and COO, will act as CEO on an interim basis while the company searches for a permanent replacement. Inouye, who became CEO following the March 2004 Gateway acquisition of eMachines, resigned Wednesday to pursue other interests.
"On behalf of the board, I want to thank Wayne for his efforts during the past two years to stabilize and build the company," Snyder said. "Thanks to the efforts of the management team and employees, Gateway last year posted its first GAAP profit since 2000, and recognized a $643 million improvement in operating income from 2004, while experiencing an increase in brand awareness and continued positive reception for its products and services from customers
and trade press alike."
Snyder will take over as CEO immediately. Inouye will serve in an
advisory role to ensure a smooth transition.
Snyder, chairman, chief executive officer and co-founder of Ardesta LLC of Ann Arbor, Mich., a company focused on bringing small tech products to the global marketplace, has been a director of Gateway since 1991 when he joined the company as executive vice president. Snyder co-led the Gateway initial public offering with Gateway founder Ted Waitt.
In January 1996, Snyder was promoted to president and chief operating
officer, a position he held until leaving the company as an employee in
August 1997. During his tenure at Gateway, the company grew from a privately held $600 million business to an NYSE-traded global player in the PC industry with revenues in excess of $6 billion.
Snyder said that neither he nor the board envision any immediate major
strategic changes at Gateway in terms of product offered or sales channels.
"Having just approved the 2006 annual operating plan, I and the other
Directors believe the company is essentially on the right course for long-term growth, and that our employees and senior management team have a sense of urgency about improving the company's financial results," Snyder said. "However, we will take this opportunity to re-examine the strategic direction of Gateway to fine-tune our products, services and approach to our Professional and Consumer Direct markets."
The board has begun a search for a permanent replacement CEO and expects to complete the search by late summer. While in his interim role, Snyder will step down temporarily from his positions as chairman of the Corporate Governance & Nominating Committee and member of the Audit Committee but will remain Chairman of the Board. In the interim, Board member Janet Clarke will become chair of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee and Board member George Krauss will join the Audit Committee.
