Execs question Amelio leadership

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Others reached the same conclusion. "I thought he had a clear vision, but ultimately, I was wrong," said a former senior corporate marketing manager.

Recent history at Apple
Feb 1996		Dr. Gil Amelio is named the new Apple CEO, after Michael Spindler gets the ax.
June 1996		Amelio announces a reorg where six senior executives report to him, but he pays little attention to cutting the list of Apple products. Executives named include Marco Landi, COO; George Scalise, chief administrative officer; Fred Anderson, CFO; Satjiv Chahil, senior VP, corporate marketing; Dr. Douglas Solomon, VP, strategic planning; and a chief technology officer to be named.
July 1996		Ellen Hancock joins company as chief technology officer.
Sept 1996		Apple conducts merger talks with Be, which would provide Apple a new OS.
Nov 1996		Talks with Be stall over price. Amelio appears unenthusiastic about the deal.
Dec 1996		Apple buys Next Software for $400 million; Steve Jobs returns as "consultant." Jobs objects to spinning off Next's WebObjects for $300 million.
Jan 1997		At Macworld, Amelio refuses to rehearse his keynote. His performance is panned for being winded and unfocused.
Feb 1997		Amelio launches a new management shuffle reverts the company structure back to a plan similar to what was in place when Amelio arrived at Apple. The future of Apple's new OS is handed to a Next exec.
March 1997		1997 Amelio announces the layoff of 2,700 full-time employees and 1,400 temporary and contract workers, but makes only light cuts in the product line.
Photo of Dr. Gil Amelio courtesy of Apple Computer.