The current and last independent CEO of Gateway, Ed Coleman, has announced that he will retire from his position at the end of January. The move will make room for Rudi Schmidleithner, the head of Acer's division in the Americas, who will take Coleman's place as he leaves. The Taiwan-based Acer finished acquiring Gateway in October, at a cost of $170 million; Gateway continues to exist as a subsidiary company though, and has been actively releasing products such as a 30-inch LCD and new notebooks.

For Acer the benefit of the purchase was increased recognition in North America, while Gateway has gained more exposure for itself and its eMachines label. Around the same time of the acquisition, Gateway had managed to obtain effective control of Packard Bell, giving Acer even broader reach in the PC market. [via The New York Times]