Apple U-turn on CU is final straw for sales director

Apple UK has been forced to restructure its channel sales team following the departure of channel sales director Julian Klein.

Klein, who joined Apple from Computer 2000 in October 1997, left on 26 June. According to one source, he had become disillusioned with the chain of command and the way in which decisions were being made.

His departure comes in the wake of Apple's announcement that it is postponing plans to dump Computers Unlimited as one of its UK distributors (PC Dealer, 24 June).

One source said: 'Julian had to reverse nearly every decision he has announced because the strings were being pulled elsewhere - ie in the US. I can only imagine he was personally embarrassed by this latest U-turn.'

An Apple reseller, which asked not to be identified, agreed: 'Julian got fed up because his authority was constantly being undermined. The Apple job simply didn't match up to his career expectations. He's now taking two months off to think about the future.'

A representative for Apple said it had known for some time that Klein was planning to move on and that he had timed his departure to coincide with the end of the third financial quarter.

Jon Molyneux, managing director of Apple UK, contacted the Apple reseller community by email last week to inform them of Klein's departure and offer reassurance that it would not upset the vendor's relationship with channel partners.

He said: 'As a result of this announcement, I will be working on creating an organisational structure and transition plan for our sales team in the near future.'

Klein declined to comment. It is understood he has no immediate career plans for the future.