ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Saturday, February 3, 1996             TAG: 9602050068
SECTION: BUSINESS                 PAGE: A6   EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: SAN JOSE, CALIF. 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 

PICKING A NEW APPLE? BOARD SHAKES UP LEADERSHIP TREE, GRAPEVINE SAYS

In another sign of disarray at Apple Computer Inc., lots of people said it had a new leader Friday. But not the company.

Silicon Valley was buzzing with the news that Apple's directors booted Chief Executive Officer Michael Spindler and shuffled chairman A.C. ``Mike'' Markkula to vice chairman. Reportedly, Gil Amelio, an Apple director and leader of National Semiconductor Corp., will replace them.

National announced Amelio's resignation. Apple said nothing.

``Apple does things on their own time, not anyone else's,'' said Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies Research International. ``I don't know what to tell you.''

If the management shake-up is true, analysts say it is a sign Apple's directors have decided to keep the struggling personal-computer maker independent. Apple has been the subject of takeover rumors for more than a year, and speculation has intensified on a prospective $3 billion buyout by Sun Microsystems Inc.

Experts say Amelio would not have left National to shepherd Apple to a buyer. A 30-year veteran in electronics, Amelio has built a reputation for reviving troubled companies.

``His perspective on what companies need in order to be successful, focusing on opportunities, not just trying to [cut costs], is just the right perspective for Apple,'' said Pieter Hartsook, publisher of the Hartsook Letter in Alameda, Calif.

``Apple could do a lot worse, and I think the worst thing Apple could do is to do nothing,'' he said.

The company has faced a storm of criticism in recent weeks after suffering anemic sales growth in the last three months of 1995, usually the best time of year for PC makers.

It lost $69 million in the quarter, forecast another loss for the first three months of 1996 and has begun laying off 1,300 of its 14,500 employees.

Spindler, who became Apple's third CEO after John Sculley quit in 1993, has taken most of the heat.

``If this is true, it's an encouraging sign that Apple is ready to face its problems,'' said Orin McCluskey, a New York investment manager who urged Spindler to resign at the company's annual meeting last week.

After that meeting, Markkula told reporters that Spindler had the board's full support. But the board decided Wednesday to replace Spindler, according to newspaper accounts.

Spindler learned about the decision Thursday, Bajarin said.

``The continuing bad news and the issues surrounding people's fears [led to] this crisis of confidence,'' he said.

LENGTH: Medium:   61 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:   1. AP Apple Computer's leaders were mum over rumors 
          Apple had replaced President and CEO Michael Spindler (left) and 
          bumped Chairman A.C. "Mike" Markkula to vice chairman.
          2. Word has it Gilbert Amelio of National Semiconductor will head 
          Apple.