SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- An executive at Dell Inc. who led the slumping computer maker's procurement efforts and managed its relationships with suppliers has left the company, Dell said late Friday.

Martin Garvin, a vice president who had been with Round Rock, Texas-based company for 10 years, decided to retire, said Dell spokesman David Frink.

Another senior executive, Thomas Welch, a vice president in Dell's legal department, is also leaving the company, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cited unnamed people ''familiar with his situation.''

The departures come amid a wrenching turnaround as Dell, the world's No. 2 PC seller, tries to improve its profitability and regain market share it has lost to Palo Alto-based Hewlett-Packard Co., now the world's No. 1 PC seller.

Last year, Dell announced plans to jettison 8,800 jobs, or 10 percent of its work force, as part of the company's efforts to cut $3 billion to $4 billion in costs over several years.