Lenovo Names IBM’s Ward as Chief Executive

Lenovo Group Ltd., which bought IBM Corp.’s personal computer division for $1.25 billion, named IBM’s Stephen Ward as chief executive.

Lenovo’s chief executive, Yang Yuanqing, was named chairman, replacing founder Liu Chuanzhi, who will become a nonexecutive director, the company said. Ward, 50, who was previously general manager of IBM’s personal systems group, will be based in the U.S.

Beijing-based Lenovo on Saturday said it completed the purchase of the IBM unit, making it the world’s third-largest personal computer maker behind Dell Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. IBM exited the PC business after losing ground to Dell, leading to losses at the division.