Embattled Lay Quits Compaq Board

Lay, one of Compaq's highest-profile directors in the post-Eckhard Pfeiffer era, steps down as a director of the Houston-based computer maker during a critical time.

He was one of the directors who voted to approve the pending, but precarious, merger between Compaq and Hewlett-Packard. Shortly after that merger proposal was announced, Lay's own company, Enron, began spiraling into its own massive financial collapse.

"Ken Lay has resigned from the Compaq board to focus on other responsibilities," said a Compaq spokesman. Further details about the timing of Lay's resignation, or any potential successor, were not immediately available.

Enron, an energy company, was forced into bankruptcy and many of its employees - whose pension plans were tied into Enron stock - lost their life savings. The collapse has prompted investigations in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, in addition to a probe announced this week by the U.S. Department of Justice.