Compaq CEO and CFO ousted

Compaq CEO Eckhard Pfeiffer and CFO Earl Mason were suddenly andunceremoniously dumped over the weekend, ten days after the companyannounced that it would be reporting lower than expected profits for thecurrent quarter. Pfeiffer had referred to the earnings drop as a "hiccup."Compaq is currently the number one PC maker and Pfeiffer is generallycredited with taking the company there.

Until new leaders are found, the company will be run by a new Office of theChief Executive which includes chairman Ben Rosen, and vice chairmen FrankDoyle and Robert Enloe.

"The computer world is in a lot of turmoil," Rosen said of the changes. "Theissues are very complex and we felt we really needed a change in theleadership in order to keep our position as the industry leader."

Perhaps, but executives at Dell Computer and Hewlett Packard, two ofCompaq's fiercest competitors, say they see no slowdown in sight for theircompanies