'Sparky' Sparks, former IBM and Compaq senior executive, joins The Panda Project.BOCA RATON Boca Raton (bō`kə rətōn`), city (1990 pop. 61,492), Palm Beach co., SE Fla., on the Atlantic; inc. 1925. Boca Raton is a popular resort and retirement community that experienced significant industrial development in the 1970s and 80s. , Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 15, 1995--The Panda Project See Archistrat computer. (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :PNDA PNDA Plan National de Développement Agricole (French: National Agriculture Development Plan) PNDA Perinatal Death Audit PNDA Pinkerton National Detective Agency PNDA Philippine National Day Association ) announced that H.L. ``Sparky'' Sparks, who helped build and lead the highly successful sales forces at the inception of IBM's PC company in 1980, and then at Compaq Computer in 1983, has joined the company as vice president-Marketing. Sparks, one of the original six key senior managers at the IBM PC company A subsidiary of the IBM Corporation located in Raleigh, NC, that was involved with all aspects of IBM PCs. In 2004, it became part of Lenovo, which acquired IBM's ThinkPad personal computers. See Lenovo. , was responsible for marketing, communications, sales and service, for what some industry observers have called the ``most successful new product launch in history.'' From its inception in 1981 through the end of 1984, the PC and the allied products were responsible for more than $4 billion in sales. Sparks successfully developed the celebrated IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) dealer network managing IBM PC A PC made by IBM. IBM created the PC industry in 1981 when it introduced its first model with 16KB of RAM. However, it was way off in its estimates, projecting that 250,000 units would be sold in the first five years. In fact, about three million IBM PCs were sold in that period. sales, support, service, marketing, education, communications, operations and customer relations. In 1983, Compaq Computer Corp., then in its startup phase, lured Sparks away to build its marketing, sales and service. In its first full year of sales, Compaq recorded sales of $111.2 million, the most ever by an independent computer systems startup company The creator of this article, or someone who has substantially contributed to it, may have a conflict of interest regarding its subject matter. It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies, particularly neutral point of view. . Under his guidance, Compaq built a network of more than 1,800 dealers and recorded the industry's highest level of dealer and customer satisfaction. ``The Panda Project reminds me a lot of the early days of the IBM PC, and of Compaq's launch - a very large, fast growing market opportunity, a highly motivated and skilled team of professionals, and compelling reasons for customers to buy their new products,'' said Sparks. ``Today's client server market is even larger and faster growing than the personal computer market in 1981 when the IBM PC was first shipped and in 1983 when Compaq shipped its first portable. In addition, The Panda Project's enabling technology and systems architecture offers even more compelling reasons for customers to buy The Panda Project's new servers and workstations. For me, The Panda Project is an opportunity to once again, join a dedicated team of professionals and to help make good things happen in our industry.'' Sparks' responsibility at Panda will be to develop and build the sales and service channels for Panda's innovative Archistrat(tm) 4S server and Archistrat(tm) 4B workstation. These systems utilize a unique modular systems architecture that offers both flexibility and growth to new, more powerful systems, as well as protection against the rapid obsolescence ob·so·les·cent adj. 1. Being in the process of passing out of use or usefulness; becoming obsolete. 2. Biology Gradually disappearing; imperfectly or only slightly developed. that has characterized char·ac·ter·ize tr.v. character·ized, character·iz·ing, character·iz·es 1. To describe the qualities or peculiarities of: characterized the warden as ruthless. 2. the PC industry. ``Our commitment at Panda is to recruit `the best and the brightest' in all areas of our company,'' said Stanford W. Crane Jr., Panda's chief executive officer and chairman. ```Sparky' is a man of legendary skills who brings with him a wealth of experience, accomplishment and years of credibility with many of the industry's leading sales channels. He is already making a major impact in the Archistrat Systems Division.'' Termed ``a marketing genius,'' in the book Blue Magic by James Chaposky and Ted Leonis, Sparks' key role in the success of the IBM PC is credited in helping change the course of the computer industry. Sparks' role at IBM and Compaq is also detailed in R. Cringely's book Accidental Empires, which chronicles the rise of IBM, Compaq Computer and other industry giants. Since leaving Compaq in 1985, Sparks has functioned in a management role in several successful high tech startup companies. During the three years just prior to joining The Panda Project, Sparks has been managing his own sales and marketing consulting business, H.L. Sparks & Associates. The Panda Project through its Archistrat(tm) Technologies Division also develops and makes proprietary, highly dense semiconductor packages, and connectors. CONTACT: The Panda Project, Boca Raton Jeff Mehler, 407/994-2300 |
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