Dell Names Adobe CEO To Its Board; Krawcheck Resigns

   DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

Dell Inc. (DELL) named Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) Chief Executive Shantanu Narayen to its board, replacing Sallie L. Krawcheck.

Krawcheck, who has been a director at the computer maker since July 2006, said her resignation will allow her to focus more on her new job running the wealth-management operations at Bank of America Corp. (BAC). Her resignation is effective Wednesday.

Krawcheck, a long-time banking-industry analyst, has been mentioned as a possible replacement if Bank of America Chief Executive Ken Lewis were to leave. She previously was chief financial officer at Citigroup Inc. (C) and worked at its brokerage subsidiary Smith Barney.

Narayen, 46, joins the board immediately and will stand for election at Dell's next annual meeting. He has been chief executive of Adobe since December 2007 and has worked there for 11 years.

"As CEO of one of the world's largest and most diversified software companies, Shantanu will provide us with valuable insight as we develop and deliver IT [information-technology] solutions to customers," said Chairman and Chief Executive Michael Dell.

Last month, Dell reported its quarterly profit fell 23% as the company continued to be squeezed by depressed corporate spending and plunging prices for personal computers. The company last week agreed to acquire Perot Systems Corp. (PER) for $3.9 billion, becoming the latest technology company looking to expand beyond its core operations amid the recession.

Dell's shares rose 1 cent to $15.18 in after-hours trading. The stock has gained 48% this year but is down 1.5% from a year ago.

-By Kathy Shwiff, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2357; [e-mail]