COMPAQ CEO Pfeiffer in shakeup

Compaq Computer CEO Eckhard Pfeiffer resigned from the nation_s No. 1 PC maker , along with Chief Financial Officer Earl Mason. Chairman and founder Benjamin Rosen will take the helm, along with two other senior executives, until a replacement is found. Pfeiffer, who joined in 1983 and has led the company since 1991, was felled by a slump in earnings and a massive hit to the company_s stock price, amid a general slowdown in the PC industry. Compaq stock, which had surged as high as 511/4 earlier this year, has been in a freefall in recent months, highlighted by the company_s shocking admission on April 9 that first-quarter earnings would be about half of what analysts were expecting. On April 12, the first day of trading after the disclosure, the stock plunged 23 percent in a single day and last week showed no sign of rebounding. The company is expected to speak with analysts today, in advance of its quarterly earnings report due out Wednesday. Wall Street was very much on the mind of Rosen in yesterday_s announcement.'We will prove to every customer that this is the best company to serve their information technology needs. And we will confirm to our investors that Compaq remains a core holding in any portfolio,' he said. Compaq has been scrambling to broaden its product line beyond its traditional base of lower-end servers. Those moves were aimed at tackling rivals Hewlett-Packard and IBM head on in the PC wars. It has also been wrestling with competition from direct-to-consumer computer makers such as Dell Computer and Gateway 2000. Mason_s duties will be assumed by Compaq Treasurer Ben Wells on an interim basis while the company searches for a permanent replacement. The company said that Mason is leaving to become CEO in an 'unrelated industry.'