Gateway founder Ted Waitt passes the baton to long-time board director Richard Snyder Gateway founder and chairman Ted Waitt resigned from the PC company on Thursday, passing his baton to long-time board director Richard Snyder.Waitt, who served as Gateway chairman for 20 years, said he is leaving to concentrate on the other businesses he owns and to do more philanthropic work. “My interests are vast and varied and I’d like to be able to take on some new challenges in the next 20 years,” Waitt said in a statement.New chairman Snyder has been a director at the company since 1991 and served as president and chief operating officer of Gateway from January 1996 to August 1997. He also held the position of executive vice president from 1991 to 1996. Along with Waitt, he helped lead the company’s initial public offering (IPO). Snyder is currently the chief executive officer of Ardesta, a company in Ann Arbor, Michigan which focuses on bringing small technology products to market. His place on Gateway’s board has been filled by Janet Clarke, president and founder of Clarke Littlefield, a company providing advice on technology marketing.Snyder said in a statement that he looks forward to working with Gateway President and CEO Wayne Inouye on the company’s growth plans.The computer company has gone through a series of business changes in recent years, diminishing its focus on direct sales to rely more heavily on retail outlets. It has also retreated from a foray into other technology areas to renew its focus on PCs. It took third place in terms of U.S. PC shipments in the first quarter of this year, according to data from market analysts IDC and Gartner Inc. The leadership changes were announced on the same day as the Irvine, California, company’s annual meeting of shareholders. Technology Industry