back to article Misfiring Lenovo hires Ford director to help with revamp

Lenovo has hired an experienced executive with financial, M&A and AI chops following a year of declining revenues amid continued efforts to reduce its over-reliance on the struggling PC market. John Thornton, who is joining as an independent non-exec director and member of the Nomination and Governance Committee, already holds …

  1. dadbot5000

    Unless he can convince the US that Lenovo's AI isn't feeding private data directly to the Chinese Communist Party, he will fail.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      "Step up AI, seen by some vendors as a panacea"

      Yeah, that's going to work out well.

      The new friendly face lashed to the bow of a sinking ship, not a job I'd relish, but the paychecks will be nice while the band plays "Nearer, My God, to Thee."

      If their only plan to diversify is to me-too into AI hype at the last minute, they are going to fare as well as the clowns that bought the bag at the NFT fire-sale. Lenovo is going to get kicked in the face by the wave of anti-China sanctions and trade headwinds that Xi bought the Chinese tech sector. Over hyped blackbox AI isn't going to help that, it's going to be worse.

      Diversification strategies are supposed to focus on lower risk bets in markets that don't move with your primary market, aren't they?

  2. spold Silver badge

    I'm sure he can deliver....

    ...he has his own white Transit.

  3. Gene Cash Silver badge

    Oh great

    Now we can get Lenovos with Ford quality, as if things weren't bad enough.

    1. CowHorseFrog Silver badge

      Re: Oh great

      What makes you think John is 100% responsible for every single thing at Ford ?

      Does he really work on every assembly line and every single car ?

    2. Roland6 Silver badge

      Re: Oh great

      > Now we can get Lenovos with Ford quality

      Not noticed an increase in complaints about the quality of Volvo’s declining since 1999…

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Oh great

      If Ford made cars to lenovo standards the fuel filler cap would be welded shut, the car would look like a cheap plastic model T and the brake would be on the left, clutch in the middle.

  4. CowHorseFrog Silver badge

    Here we go again with the American CEO worship.

    Why do people still think one person make ALL the difference ?

    I could never figure out why companies think CEOs make the sun shine and yet still employ thousands of useless workers...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Cynically

      I doubt they have that high an expectation of him.

      He's a dancing monkey. They didn't make him CEO. He's not in charge. He's not there to change anything at the company. He's there to sell a narrative from the existing management who already decided on a strategy. If they move him up it will be to fire him later and have him take the blame for the likely massive pool of red ink waiting on the horizon.

      No, his job is set dressing to present a friendlier and more familiar face to large US companies they hope will waste mountains of cash buying AI snake oil and propping up Lenovo's share price for a few more quarters.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Lenovo to invest $1B in AI

    so, another multi-milion hire to fire lots of minions because AI (previously: blockchain), collect his bonus and fuck off to parasite on another limping ex-leader. Great plan.

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