Compaq appears to be taking early honours in the merger battle with Hewlett-Packard as Compaq New Zealand head Russell Hewitt becomes chief executive of the merged entity and its executives do well regionally.
Hewitt will also be general manager of the new company's enterprise systems group in New Zealand. Barry Hastings, country head of the old HP NZ, becomes general manager of both the personal systems group and imaging and printing group.
Current Compaq Australia head Paul Branding will head the Australian merged entity and lead the South Pacific as a sub-region of Asia Pacific, which is run by Compaq executive Paul Chan. Indications in Australia are that the company's management team will also be weighted toward Compaq executives.
An HP statement says the appointment "demonstrates the progress of our merger planning process and is further proof that we are on track with the launch phase of the merger plan".
In the US, Judge William B Chandler has yet to rule on the fate of the merger, which has received tentative approval from shareholders, but faces a legal battle from Walter Hewlett's legal challenge.