And with Dell moving away fromits direct-only sales model and pushing into Wal-Mart and Sam's Club, Dell can afford to take a chance on anything--except being bland.
Last month Mattel replaced the American expatriate who headed its Japan operation with Sam Sugiyama, a native who is a marketing hot shot from Unilever.
It gathered samples of the atmosphere to be measured by its Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instruments, which allow sophisticated analysis of the Martian atmosphere from the rover.
Sam Zell, the chairman of Equity Group Investments, opined that Europe faces problems stemming from both its sovereign bureaucracies and its aging population.