Motorola: The End of the Zander Era

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Motorola has since broadened its chip relationships to include Texas Instruments (TXN). The company has indicated it would also work with Qualcomm (QCOM), maker of a 3G chipset that's even more efficient than comparable Texas Instruments products. "Qualcomm is the one player that could help them in time to market," says Deutsche Bank (DB) analyst Brian Modoff.

Slashing Costs and Redirecting Strategy

Some who have watched Brown over the past several months think he's up to the challenges. The board of directors appointed him president and COO in March and named him to the board near the end of the summer. Since last spring he has much time, along with Motorola Chief Financial Officer Tom Meredith , trying to fix problems in the mobile-phone unit.

Motorola executives and partners say he has attended the cell-phone team's weekly meetings, trying to understand the problems and taking action. He has appointed new leaders, including Stu Reed, to handle mobile phones and booted others. He has slashed costs and is redirecting strategy. "In February and March when the mobile business came unglued, I said I needed some help," Zander says. "He went into mobile devices and changed the management that needed to be changed."

Brown's strengths are his operations acumen, his penchant for working hard, and an ability to bring out the best in people, says Robert Laikin, CEO of Brightpoint (CELL), a key Motorola customer and a major distributor of mobile devices. It helps, observers say, that he has experience at major telecom service providers including former Baby Bell Ameritech, where he worked in the late 1980s.

Brown also has software leadership experience from his days as CEO of Micromuse (MUSE), a network management software company. Laikin says Brown can be expected to recruit the expertise he lacks. "Greg Brown isn't going to design the next great phone," Laikin says. "But he's smart enough to hire someone that will create great designs."

No Quick Turnaround Possible

Like Zander, Brown is likable, which analysts and customers say is important. Laikin first met Brown nearly a year ago at Motorola's Schaumburg (Ill.) headquarters. Laikin came to the meeting in a coat and tie, expecting the same from Brown. But Brown showed up with Meredith, both wearing sweaters, "looking like guys playing golf or hanging out," Laikin says.

During the meetings, Brown didn't duck issues Laikin was concerned about. As a distributor, Laikin had questions about the pricing and packaging of product—business issues related to moving products through the supply chain. "I thought they would hide from issues and defer resolutions," he says. But Brown "stepped up and took responsibility, and a few weeks later our issues were resolved…he's the right guy."

It will probably take analysts and investors a lot longer to reach the same conclusion, if they ever do. Motorola shares gained 2%, to 15.97, the day Brown's appointment was announced. Analysts say it will take at least 12 months before Motorola can work through its myriad troubles. And Brown knows it. "In mobile devices we're stabilizing and improving, but it's not where it needs to be," he says. "We need to return to consistent profitability and extend the product portfolio. It's going to take a little time." If it takes too long, Brown's tenure could be much shorter than his predecessor's.

Check out the BusinessWeek.com slide show for Zander's Motorola timeline.

Crockett is deputy manager of BusinessWeek's Chicago bureau .