Dell snaffles Motorola exec

Dell has hired Motorola's Ron Garriques to run the company's entire consumer business.

Garriques, who was an executive vice president at Motorola in charge of its mobile phone division, will become the latest hire at Dell in recent weeks. He will report directly to CEO Michael Dell and run an organisation that contains all of Dell's product and sales teams dedicated to consumer goods, according to a company spokesman.

Over the past few months, Dell has overhauled its executive roster, following a disappointing year that cost former CEO Kevin Rollins his job. For the most part, the new executives - such as Garriques - have come from outside the PC and server industry as the company looks for new talent and fresh ideas.

Dell executives have admitted the company took its eye off the ball last year in being slow to respond to customer support and quality concerns. Several long-time Dell executives have been reassigned or have left the company as the new blood comes onboard.

Under Garriques' leadership, Motorola introduced a number of handsets that were hits with consumers, such as the popular Razr. However, Motorola's momentum has slowed of late, and the company has warned of lower-than-expected profits.

Dell is wasting little time getting Garriques behind a desk - he starts next week. The company is also kicking off a search for a chief marketing officer, said the spokesman.

Tom Krazit writes for CNET News.com