Friday, May 20, 2005, 03:00 pm

Apple appoints new chief of AppleCare

By Kasper Jade

Apple Computer has appointed a new vice president to head its AppleCare customer service and support division, AppleInsider has learned.

According to sources, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company in recent months named Bill Frederick its new Vice President of AppleCare.

Frederick replaces former AppleCare chief, Mark Wilhelm, who was reportedly "let go" from the company back in November.

It's believed that Frederick originally hails from Adobe, where he was said to have been a colleague of John Brandon, who in 2001 also accepted a position at Apple as vice president of the Americas and Asia Pacific.

Sources believe Frederick joined Apple around the same time as Brandon and originally oversaw the company's relationship with Ingram Micro -- one of two major US distributors of Apple products. Additionally, he was said to have a part in re-igniting Apple's Value Added Reseller program.

Frederick's promotion to the top Apple support position came amongst a major restructuring to AppleCare. Near the end of 2004, Apple began downsizing its local call centers in favor of outsourcing more of its customer support to locations in India, Holland and the United Kingdom.

As one of his first orders of business as AppleCare VP, sources say Frederick was responsible for finishing a project code-named "Omega Pac," which rolled out GSX, SAP, WSS, and Omega PS8 enhancements for the Pacific countries.

Sources say part of Frederick's team has now been asked to establish more on-site services by leveraging the company's Consultants Network, which helps promote Apple's retail stores while competing directly with traditional Apple resellers.

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