Palm Computing president Robin Abrams has resigned after less than five months to capitalize on the recent flurry in IPOs to hit Wall Street. An insider at 3Com told ComputerWire that Abrams, has seen the allure of recent IPOs and has gone to a pre-IPO start-up firm. He would not say which one, but confirmed it was not HandSpring Inc. Palm lost three top executives last summer, Donna Dubinsky, former general manager of Palm; Jeff Hawkins, former chief technology officer; and Ed Colligan, former vice president of marketing, in July 1998 to form HandSpring Inc to develop rival handheld technology.
Palm Computing poached Abrams from Hewlett-Packard Co in February this year, where she was head of sales and marketing of VeriFone, the division that makes the credit card swipe machines. Palm said Abrams will be succeeded by Alan Kessler, senior vice president of the customer service organization. Kessler described Abrams’ new position as a win for Robin and a win for 3Com. Kessler, a 13-year 3Com veteran, said he planned no change in strategy for the Palm division, the fastest-growing part of 3Com. The unit accounts for slightly more than 10% of 3Com’s revenues.
