Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL)
has named Adobe Systems Inc. chief executive Shantanu Narayen to its board of directors. A valuable addition to be sure. Narayen is an experienced dealmaker, something Dell CEO Michael Dell
aspires to be. And both executives are trying to build substantial services businesses to complement their software (Adobe) and hardware (Dell) operations.
Narayen launched Adobe's charge into services with the
$1.8 billion deal to acquire Web analytics company Omniture Inc. (The Deal Pipeline subscription required) on Sept. 15. Narayen described the deal -- which is facing two
legal challenges from Omniture shareholder groups -- as a "game changer." The plan is to embed Omniture's analytical and optimization tools into Adobe's content creation software, allowing advertisers, e-commerce firms and other clients to better track and manage their customers.
Dell, meanwhile, called its Sept. 21 acquisition of Perot Systems Corp. (NYSE:PER) for $3.9 billion (The Deal Pipeline subscription required) an "anchor acquisition" on which to expand its presence in information technology services, a market dominated by Dell rivals Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ) and IBM Corp.
Narayen's deal expertise surely wasn't lost on Dell. As Adobe's COO responsible for corporate development, Narayen also played a key role in the 2005
$3.7 billion acquisition (The Deal Pipeline subscription required) of Macromedia Inc. Dell has been working to build its corporate development capabilities, most notably by hiring a new SVP of corporate strategy, David Johnson. A
legal challenge (The Deal Pipeline subscription required) of Johnson's move by his former employer, IBM, is still wending its way through the courts.
It's also worth noting that Narayen's arrival comes as Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) executive Sallie Krawcheck exits. Krawcheck joined the Dell board in 2006 and had served on the finance committee. She said her exit from the board would allow her to focus more fully on her full-time BofA job as head of Global Wealth and Investment Management, where there's plenty to keep her busy. But that's another story. -
Suzanne Stevens
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