Dell puts the Dell back in Dell 31 January, 2007 By Robert Dutt

PromoPipeline Exclusive Channel Promotions Find Out How You Can Make Money Today! ENROLL FREE! >> Underpromising William Vanderbilt - Innovative Learning Channels Services: I Can See Clearly Now Beth Vanni - Amazon Consulting Cutting the margin so many times William Vanderbilt - Innovative Learning Channels The Sign of Success - High Maintenance William Vanderbilt - Innovative Learning Channels Question for the Times: Build or Resell? Gary Bixler - AMD

After two-plus years at the helm of the direct dealer, Kevin Rollins has stepped down as CEO and is leaving the company's board of directors, effective immediately. In his place, the eponymous Michael Dell will return as CEO, the position he left in favor of Rollins in 2004.

In a statement announcing the management switch late Wednesday, Samuel Nunn, presiding director of the board, said that "Michael's vision and leadership are critical to building Dell's leadership in the technology industry for the long-term."

Although Dell, in the statement, wished Rollins well, his departure comes after a very bad year for the vendor. The direct-dealer lost first place in PC market share to rival HP, struggled financially, and saw an investigation begun by the SEC to take a look at possible accounting improprieties.

Rollins' resignation comes on the same day as CFO Jim Schneider's scheduled departure from the company.

Rollins was brought into Dell in 1996, and was seen as more than a right-hand-man to then-CEO Dell. Serving as president and COO, Rollins was seen as a co-leader along with Dell, having been brought in to provide veteran leadership. While the company boomed for the first eight years of his tenure at Dell, since 2004, it has shown signs of weakening, eventually losing first-place market share in PCs and stagnating in the consumer market, once its strong point.

Returning to day-to-day duties at the company he founded in 1984, Dell said the company that shares his name "has tremendous opportunities ahead of it."

"I am enthusiastic about Dell 2.0, which includes our plan to provide the best customer experience, build a strong global services business and ensure our products deliver the best long-term customer value," he said in a statement.

To add a final note on Rollins' time at the helm, the company announced that its results for its fourth quarter of fiscal 2007 will be below analyst expectations for both revenues and earnings per share.