President and CEO, Compaq Computer Corp. (last year No. 10) AGE 57 Revenues for 1997 $24.6 billion ADDRESS 20555 State Highway
249, Houston, Texas BIO Pfeiffer may not be a smooth-talking
businessman; in fact, he has been known to put his audience to
sleep. But the stoic German has been largely responsible for
helping Compaq survive--and even thrive--as the PC business has
undergone wrenching change this year. Pfeiffer joined Compaq in
1983, serving as V.P. and COO before becoming CEO in 1991. Since
then he's taken some big risks, such as the acquisition of Tandem
Computers for $3 billion in 1996, but he's come a long way in
making Compaq the world's largest PC maker (controlling 12% of
the market) and the second largest computer firm, behind IBM. 1998 POWER PLAY Compaq recently bought Digital Equipment Corp.
for $9 billion, a deal that will enable it to secure an
international dominion. But Pfeiffer has his eyes set on the
future: taking a page from Michael Dell's sales manual, he plans
to focus more on the Internet. He hopes the combination of online
and international growth will push the firm to $50 billion in
total revenue by the next millennium. PLACE YOUR BETS Despite a
shaky first quarter and a drop in stock prices, Compaq's
worldwide revenues grew 8% this year. The figures aren't that
impressive, and Pfeiffer himself considers this to be a
transitional phase. Analysts don't expect spectacular results too
soon. Better investments can be found elsewhere.
