Michael S. Dell has taken back the leadership of the computer company he founded, replacing Kevin B. Rollins after more than a year of mounting problems at Dell, The New York Times reported on Thursday.

The report said Rollins had resigned as chief executive and as a director. Dell, who is the chairman, immediately assumed Rollins ' duties as well.

The company presented the change, which had been speculated about by Wall Street analysts and industry insiders for more than a year, as a decision by the board, which met earlier this week, according to the report.

Rollins is not entitled to severance or a pension plan. Still, he will walk away with stock options worth about 30 million U.S. dollars that he earned during his tenure, said the report.

According to IDC, a market analysis firm, Hewlett-Packard's worldwide share of the PC market increased to 18.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006, from 15.9 percent a year ago, while Dell' s share slipped to 14.7 percent, from 17.5 percent.

Source: Xinhua