Acer CEO Lanci Resigns Following Impasse With Board

Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci has resigned from the company, effective immediately. According to Acer, Chairman J.T. Wang will become acting CEO while Acer plans for a permanent replacement.

Acer, in a statement dated Thursday, said Lanci's resignation was approved at a board meeting and his departure confirmed internally to Acer employees. The stated reason was that Lanci and "a majority" of Acer's board could no longer "reach a consensus" on the direction of the company.

"On the company's future development, Lanci held different views from a majority of the board members, and could not reach a consensus following several months of dialog," the statement reads. "They placed different levels of importance on scale, growth, customer value creation, brand position enhancement, and on resource allocation and methods of implementation."

According to Acer, Lanci's exit will not affect current operations, and the company will continue its work with products, key vendor partnerships, and channel partners.

"The personal computer remains the core of our business," said Wang in a statement. "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."

Lanci, 57, was named president of Acer in 2005 and president and CEO in 2008. He came to Acer from Texas Instruments in 1997, following Acer's acquisition of Texas Instruments' TravelMate business. Wang has been chairman of Acer following former chairman Stan Shih's retirement in 2004.

Acer has made strides in the PC space -- it became the No. 2 PC maker by shipments behind Hewlett Packard in 2009 -- and Lanci has been credited with much of that effort. In the statement, Acer notes Lanci's contributions and "expresses its true appreciation for Lanci's efforts and wishes him all the best in his future endeavors."

Acer last Friday adjusted its guidance for the second quarter of 2011, expecting a 10 percent decline instead of the previously stated 3 percent profit forecast.

Earlier this week, Taiwan-based economics news outlet CENS.com reported that former chairman Shih had advised Acer to revamp its operations to focus on profit margins instead of PC domination.

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