Transcript
Introduction
"Carl Icahn was trying to take my company away from me. I was sitting at Carl Icahn's dining room table with Icahn and his wife, eating Mrs. Icahn's meatloaf. That evening was almost the precise midpoint in a nine month drama in which the personal computing company I started in my freshman dorm room at the University of Texas in 1984, the company with my name on it almost slipped away from me and then changed forever changing me along with it. I'd like to tell you that story and a couple of other ones."
Dell had enjoyed a pretty uninterrupted run of growth in revenue and profits and cash flow for almost two decades. But by 2005, Dell was beginning to hit serious headwinds. Personal computers and laptops, which accounted for roughly 60% of our sales, were no longer the rich profit center they used to be. We needed to build new capabilities, we needed to invest in new areas, and we needed to move fast.