Battered Dell has moved to get its act together by drafing in a tech manufacturing veteran to oversee its global operations.

The vendor has had a terrible year, what with exploding laptops, service complaints, HP taking the number one PC spot, and Michael Dell having to jump back into the CEO seat.

Michael Dell is looking to kick the company back into shape, and as part of this burst of tough love, has appointed Michael Cannon as president, global operations. He will head up a new organization pulling together Dell’s manufacturing, procurement and supply chain activities.

Cannon is not exactly a hungry young thing being given the main chance. Rather, his CV reads like the consummate tech building insider. He was previously president and CEO of Solectron, the massive manufacturing outsourcer. He is also on the boards of Adobe and Seagate, and has done stints at Maxtor, IBM and Boeing.

How much freedom he’ll have to tear up the Dell rule book remains to be seen. The release touting his appointment said the new ops organization would be “focused on optimizing advantages of direct model”. Is it cynical to suggest that to get back on its feet, Dell needs to do more than refine the model it’s relied more than 20 years?®