General Motors Corp’s Electronic Data Systems Corp hasn’t wasted any time in sweeping through SD-Scicon Plc, following the news earlier this week that Deutsche Bank AG-owned Morgan Grenfell Group Plc had voted to throw in its hand with EDS (CI No 1,741) and that the takeover was therefore inevitable. The company yesterday released details of the new SD-Scicon board line up, leaving little doubt that that those few that will remain from the existing team are there only to ease the hand-over. John Jackson will retain the non-executive chairmanship only as long as it takes to make the transition. Bernard Friend, Chuck Gesme, Robin Gill, Geoffrey Holmes and Philip Swinstead have resigned. Sliding into their seats while they’re still warm are EDS chairman Lester Alberthal, senior vice-president Malcolm Gudis, European managing director Jurgen Berg, and European managing director of technical services John Bateman, who takes the place of group executive officer and managing director of SD-Scicon. Having stamped its imprimatur on the company, EDS goes on to say that it considers SD-Scicon’s most valuable assets to be its group of talented professionals… EDS has assured the present board that it intends to make every effort to protect the interest of employees and customers and to cause the combination of SD-Scicon with EDS to be an attractive proposition for them.
