Take two: Economist

May 1st 2008

From The Economist print edition

Michael Dell pioneered a new business model at the firm that bears his name. Now he wants to overhaul it

"THE second time round, the stakes are twice as high, particularly in the unforgiving world of computing. Bosses who take the helm again at firms they founded can either polish a gilded reputation, as Steve Jobs did after taking up the reins again at Apple, or they can tarnish one, the likely fate of Jerry Yang of Yahoo!, who will probably see the firm sold to Microsoft less than a year after taking over.

So why, after three years of relative distance as chairman of the board, did Michael Dell take charge again early last year at Dell, the company he had founded in his dorm room at the University of Texas at the age of 19? “When you start a company, it's a very personal thing,” answers Dell, who is now 43. “I will care about what happens to the company even after I'm dead. I just can't let it go.”

Mr Dell's tenacity seems to be paying off. His firm, which used to be the world's biggest maker of personal computers, but had lost its crown to Hewlett-Packard, is beginning to regain market share. In the first quarter, it made 15.7% of PCs sold globally, compared with 14.8% a year ago, according to IDC, a market research firm. But there is still much to do if he is to achieve his goal of turning his company, commercially speaking, from a Texan unilateralist into a global multilateralist.

For more on this article, please click on the following link: Take Two: Economist