3Com on Wednesday named Bruce Claflin to the newly created post of chief operating officer, a move to lighten the day-to-day load of CEO Eric Benhamou.
Claflin, who most recently served as Digital Equipment Corp.'s senior vice president of worldwide sales and marketing, will oversee 3Com's four business units. He also will head 3Com's sales and marketing operations.
Benhamou will remain in charge of the company's long-term strategic, financial, and technological directions. He also will focus on strengthening and expanding 3Com's business partnerships and customer relationships.
3Com (COMS), based in Santa Clara, California, is the No. 2 networking equipment company behind Cisco Systems (CSCO). Last year, 3Com had US$5.4 billion in sales.
The need to appoint a COO grew out of 3Com's 1997 acquisition of modem-maker US Robotics. That deal doubled the number of 3Com's employees and increased revenues by 78 percent, but the firm's executive management team remained unchanged.
