Acer boss resigns over strategy clash

PC giant admits Gianfranco Lanci's growth strategy differed from that of its board

Acer has announced the resignation of its chief executive, Gianfranco Lanci, citing differences over strategy.

The Taiwanese PC giant released a cryptic statement this morning confirming that Lanci (pictured) "held different views from a majority of the board members".

Lanci's resignation, which is with immediate effect, comes less than a week after the fast-growing firm hinted the tablet boom has taken the wind out of its sails as it cut its revenue forecasts.

Acer's consumer notebook stronghold has been the engine of the PC market's growth over the past five years and its market share has rocketed as a result. However, recent figures from Gartner suggested the consumer notebook boom is over as end users turn their attention towards new mobile devices including tablets.

Acer enigmatically revealed that Lanci and its board placed "different levels of importance on scale, growth, customer value creation, brand position enhancement, and on resource allocation and methods of implementation".

Although it declined to reveal exactly what those differences were, Acer chairman J T Wang, who is now acting chief executive, laid out Acer's strategy.

"The personal computer remains the core of our business," he said. "We have built up a strong foundation and will continue to expand within, especially in the commercial PC segment. In addition, we are stepping into the new mobile device market, where we will invest cautiously and aim to become one of the leading players."

He continued: "In this new ICT industry. Acer needs a period of time for adjustment. With the spirit of entrepreneurship, we will face new challenges and look to the future with confidence."

Lanci also served as president of Acer EMEA. That post will now be filled by Walter Deppeler, who was previously deputy president of Acer EMEA.