Gianfranco Lanci, who has worked as a consultant since September for the world’s No. 2 PC maker, will head up Lenovo’s efforts in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Lanci served most recently as chief executive officer at Acer, one of Lenovo’s most bitter rivals.

The appointment was reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Lenovo is reorganizing its business units to help drive more global sales, the newspaper said.

Effective April 2, Lenovo will have four geographic units: North America, China, the group led by Lanci, and Asia, Latin America, the Journal reported.

Lenovo currently has three groups: Mature markets, emerging markets and China.

Current Lenovo execs will run the three other units, the Journal said.

The latest reorganization follows recent changes in management with CEO Yang Yuanqing taking over as chairman and forming a new advisory group.

The company operates its executive headquarters in Morrisville.

Lanci resigned as CEO at Acer last March. The Taiwan-based firm has struggled over the past year while Lenovo surged past it and Dell to become the No. 2 PC maker. HP is No. 1.

“Lenovo is fully committed to the PC industry. We are very optimistic about its future, while making significant long-term investments in the mobile internet. Because of this, exceptional people like Gianfranco are joining Lenovo,” said Lenovo CEO Yuanqing Yang in a statement when Lanci was hired as a consultant.

“We have the right strategy, innovative products, strong culture, and a talented team. These key elements of our core competitiveness will help us to continue winning. Therefore, Lenovo is the best working place for talented people.”

Lenovo said Lanci’s “particular focus” will be the integration of recently acquired Medion into the company. Medion is the largest PC manufacturer and also sells other technology products in Germany.

“As a consultant to us, Gianfranco brings years of expertise and insights to Lenovo that will help us strengthen our growing global consumer business,” Yang said. “Talented people are joining Lenovo because of our commitment to the PC industry, outstanding momentum and optimism about the future. We will continue to strengthen our company by building the best global team in the industry.”

Analysts at Morgan Stanley hailed Lanci’s hiring at the time.

“We think the arrival of ex-Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci as a global consultant is positive for Lenovo. Mr. Lanci’s strength is in consumer channels in Europe, where Lenovo is weak,” said Morgan Stanley analysts in a research note published Monday as reported by the Central News Agency in Taiwan.

“We view this as a negative for Acer; it may weigh further on its business in Europe,” they added.

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