According to a Hillwood source, the younger Perot has established a management hierarchy in the past 18 months that has his utmost confidence as chairman and founder of the development corporation. In fact, he spent most of the past year in London working with Perot Systems' European operations while his Hillwood team never missed a step in its ongoing development plans, stresses the source. Hillwood Development's day-to-day operations are headed up by CEO Rick Patterson, with the investment arm under the direction of Todd L. Platt.

Ross Perot Sr. will continue as Perot Systems' chairman, working closely with customers and the sales and marketing teams. He says his son's success record in all facets of business led to the decision, "along with his deep commitment to take Perot Systems to the next level of becoming a global business and technology solutions leader."

The younger Perot also serves as chairman of HCL Perot Systems, a joint venture formed in March 1996 with HCL Technologies, one of India's largest information technology groups, and a director for Time0, a leading builder of digital marketplaces, and wholly-owned subsidiary of Perot Systems.