Motorola Reorganizes Mobile Phone Business

Schaumburg, IL (AHN) - Motorola said Friday it was reorganizing its mobile phone unit in hopes of improving chances of enticing a CEO to an independent company. Chief among the changes is streamlining leadership for product areas within the organization.

Rob Shaddock, now a senior vice president of mobile devices, will lead the consumer cell phone area. John Cipolla will head mid to high-level phones, while Steve Lalla will manage mass market phones.

Todd DeYoung, another Motorola vice president, will be in charge of sales strategy, helping target the correct phone to match the market. In the past, Motorola has experienced problems selling handsets to the correct region.

The changes follow Motorola's recent announcement it would spin-off its phone unit into a separate business.

Motorola's market share has fallen 10 percent over the past year, prompting CEO Greg Brown to take control of the phone business.

Motorola releases its first quarter earnings report next week.