Lenovo puts another ex-Dell exec on the payroll

Lenovo Group has hired a former Dell executive as senior vice president of its global supply chain, the sixth Dell executive it has tapped in the past month.

Gerry Smith, former vice president of Dell's Singapore design centre and displays unit, will immediately join Lenovo to oversee its global supply chain, Lenovo announced on Thursday. He is replacing Liu Jun, who has taken a one-year sabbatical to pursue advanced executive studies.

William Amelio, CEO of Lenovo, said in a statement: "Gerry is a seasoned executive in PC and peripherals supply-chain management, with a solid track record delivering in the areas that Lenovo is currently targeting for improvements, particularly serviceability and cost reductions."

Smith's appointment follows a series of new hires at the company in the past month that have come from Dell's executive ranks in Asia.

Lenovo is moving quickly to fortify its executive ranks after closing its $1.75bn acquisition of IBM's PC business last year. That acquisition propelled Lenovo to the status of the world's third-largest PC maker.

Last December, Lenovo hired former Dell executive William Amelio as its chief executive officer. Amelio had previously served as president of Dell's Asia-Pacific and Japan region. His Dell hires have largely come from the same region.

Within the past month, Lenovo hired Dell's former services head in Asia, Christopher Askew, to launch a new services unit. The company also named Dell's former marketing chief for Asia, David Schmoock, to oversee its new Center of Excellence for supply and demand forecasting, pricing and inventory management.

David Miller, former president of Dell China, was named as Lenovo's Asia-Pacific president, while Sotaro Amano, former Dell Japan home and business sales corporate director, was hired as Lenovo's Japan president.

Earlier this month, Lenovo also picked up Kenneth DiPietro, a former Dell human resources (HR) executive who was most recently working at Microsoft as vice president of human resources for the Americas. DiPietro is Lenovo's head of HR.

Lenovo's recent Dell hires come at a time when Dell is working to increase its presence in the Asia-Pacific region, which encroaches on Lenovo's home turf.

Dawn Kawamoto writes for CNET News.com