This past year, scores of executives and engineers have switched from consumer electronics to computer companies and vice versa, abandoning their old jobs for more pay and prestige. Salaries for the most elite hires reach into the seven figures a year, including lucrative sign-on bonuses and stock options, industry headhunters say. Bidding wars and steep salaries already are legend in the booming technology business.
Computer companies see the trend as a chance to spread beyond home-office machines.
But to do that, they need help getting their products into consumer electronics stores. And electronics companies seeking to sell more computer-like devices need the expertise of software and hardware developers. The competition has rarely been keener. Compaq, like other companies, declined to discuss compensation. His former job as head buyer helped get Gateway's Destination PC-TV displayed last year in electronics stores.