Gateway's Weitzen: Low-profile, fast track
Published: 09 Dec 1999 10:47 GMT
The man who's stepping up to replace Ted Waitt as Gateway's CEO isn't a stranger inside the company. Jeffrey Weitzen has served as its president and chief operating officer just shy of two years now. But even as the company's second highest executive, he has kept a low-profile and taken a backseat to Waitt, who has been to Gateway what Steve Jobs is to Apple.
While he hasn't established much of a public record by way of interviews, keynotes and other public appearances, this much is known about Weitzen:
He's young -- just 43 -- and lives in San Diego, California, where South Dakota-born Gateway now makes its home. He has a wife and two children. He's a New Jersey native, born in Perth Amboy. He earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Wesleyan University and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Chicago.
Weitzen joined Gateway after an 18-year career with AT&T. He entered the behemoth's upper crust in 1992, when he became president of AT&T's Asia-Pacific region. From there, he hit the fast track. In 1994, Weitzen was elevated to oversee the company's Global Services unit. Just two years after that he was elevated yet again -- to executive vice president of the Business Markets Division, a $24bn (£15bn) business unit.
At Gateway, Weitzen is credited as the "driving force" in the company's efforts to nurture customer loyalty -- not just by building computers, but by focusing on many of the activities that occur around the PC. During Weitzen's tenure, Gateway began offering its PC buyers a personalised Internet portal, Gateway's own branded Internet access service and an innovative PC trade-in program.
Weitzen also oversaw the company's effort to establish a chain of retail stores to complement the direct telephone, catalogue and Internet sales that account for the vast bulk of Gateway's revenues. Because of the business-to-business background he acquired at AT&T, Weitzen has also been instrumental in Gateway's accelerated efforts to sell its computers into corporations.
According to the company's most recent proxy statement, Weitzen's salary was $750,000 last year. Upon joining the company, he also received a $1.4m signing bonus and a $600,000 fully vested stock grant. He holds one million stock options, at an exercise price of $34. The stock closed Wednesday at $65.69. On paper, that gives Weitzen a gain on his optioned shares of $31.9m.
What do you think? Tell the Mailroom. And read what others have said.
Did you find this article useful?
34 out of 62 people found this useful
Digg
Slashdot
Del.ici.ous
Stumble
Reddit
