Just as it gets back into the mobile-phone business, Dell is losing its top mobile executive.
Ron Garriques, president of its communications solutions group, has decided to leave the company, Dell said in a filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that was published on Wednesday. His last day will be Jan. 28, but he'll offer consulting services to Dell through the end of 2011.
Dell hired Garriques in 2007 from Motorola, where he was president of mobile devices.
At Dell, he was most recently responsible for bringing connected products to market through distribution channels like telecom and cable, according to his biography. Under his watch, Dell re-entered the mobile devices market. This year, it released the Streak, an Android device that falls between a smartphone and a tablet.
Dell also was one of the first companies to launch a Windows Phone 7 device, the Venue Pro, but that launch wasn't totally smooth. Dell had to offer replacement phones to some Venue Pro buyers who complained of problems with Wi-Fi and who had batteries that were labeled as samples.
Dell is also selling the Aero smartphone, which runs the Android operating system.
Dell did not reply to a request for comment about who might take Garriques' place and why he's leaving the company.
The Associated Press reported that he decided to leave after a reorganization eliminated his group.
Garriques will receive severance and incentive plan payments of US$1.8 million, according to the regulatory filing. For his future consulting services, he'll be paid $6.3 million.
Nancy Gohring covers mobile phones and cloud computing for The IDG News Service. Follow Nancy on Twitter at @idgnancy. Nancy's e-mail address is Nancy_Gohring@idg.com