Business Notes the Boardroom

Not long ago, Compaq Computer president Rod Canion was being called a genius. Now he isn't even called president. Last week, one day after Compaq announced the first quarterly loss in its corporate history and the layoff of 1,440 employees, Canion was dismissed by Compaq's board of directors.

Launched in 1982, Houston-based Compaq immediately made its mark with portable personal computers. Compaq reached $1 billion in annual sales in just five years, then a worldwide record. Today Compaq trails only IBM and Apple among PC makers. But that market is going through a major slump, which has forced Compaq to slash its once premium prices. At the same time, Compaq has had trouble expanding into the market for more powerful machines. Canion was replaced by Eckhard Pfeiffer, Compaq's executive vice president.