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With his trademark year-round tan, all-wheel-drive Porsche Carrera 4 and closetful of $2,000 designer suits, Robert Palmer might seem more at home in the Hollywood Hills pitching movie ideas and fielding calls from film stars than running Digital Equipment Corp
Like the hero in a blockbuster movie, Palmer is determined to save Digital, banishing its recent history of conflict and suspense into distant memory. The first quarter started slowly. In fact, shareholders called for a sale or merger of the company when Digital's stock dropped into the $20 range.
But Palmer's approach seems to be working. Digital stock now is trading in the mid- to high $40range. Colleagues credit Palmer's directing skills and business acumen for Digital's renewed vigor.
"The year that Bob Palmer took over we were operating at a negative of 5 percent, and this year we showed a positive return of 4 percent, or a swing of $1.2 billion," says Chief Financial Officer Vin Mullarkey.
Palmer is rewriting Digital's script, attempting to recast the 40-year-old computer company as a technology leader, unencumbered by vast, unassociated businesses. This has meant trimming the workforce and closely scrutinizing all business units.
"When Bob Palmer started, we had some 126,000 employees. Now we have some 55,000. There were 30 manufacturing plants around the world. Now we have nine. He's substantially changed the strategy of the company,"...