Acer appoints new chairman next June

The return of Acer founder Shih last week was reminiscent of another two well-known founders of the PC industry-Steve Jobs's return to Apple and Michael Dell.

But unlike jobs and Dell, Shih has no intention of holding Acer reins for long. In Thursday, Acer spokeswoman Wang said Acer would "hire the new president as soon as possible" and then hire the new chairman next June. Acer's chairman, Wang, and President Wong last week Shih stepped as Acer's chairman and CEO after a record loss both resigned.

China's Taiwanese media are rife with rumours of Acer's new chairman candidate, including Siu, co-founder of Shih, a returning company. The Acer spokeswoman did not comment on the potential chairman's candidate, but said it would decide on the Chairman's nomination before the shareholders ' meeting next June.

So far, Shih has not disclosed any specific plans to restructure Acer, but disclosed to the media this week that it will unveil its restructuring plan in the next 1 or 2 months. Shih also said he had no intention of letting Acer retire and that Acer's full recovery could take 3 years. A spokesman for Acer confirmed Shih's comments.

Acer has had a hard time over the past two years as the main product home notebook demand has been depressed. As mobile devices replace netbooks, Acer is in a worse position than before. The third-quarter loss of NT $13.12 billion (about 2.724 billion yuan) became the trigger for the Acer personnel quake, and Acer's losses were largely attributable to write-downs of assets, including Gateway and Packard Bell, as a result of the decline in the value of its inventories and acquisitions.

Acer announced earlier this month that it would cut 8,000 employees, accounting for about 7% of its workforce, and save 100 million dollars (about 613 million yuan) a year.