 Earl Mason, hired from Inland Steel effective on May 1996, immediately made an impact as the new CFO.Under Mason's guidance, Compaq utilized its assets more efficiently instead of focusing just on income and profits, which increased Compaq's cash from $700 million to nearly $5 billion in one year.Also Compaq's return on invested capital (after-tax operating profit divided by operating assets) has doubled to 50 percent from 25 percent in that period.