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Former eBay CEO to head battered HP
Source: Agencies |
September 24, 2011, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
HEWLETT-PACKARD Co named Meg Whitman, former chief executive of eBay Inc, as its president and CEO, replacing the harshly criticized Leo Apotheker in a bid to restore investor confidence in the iconic Silicon Valley company.
The decision was made without a formal CEO search and piled renewed criticism on the board, which investors have blamed, at least in part, for the company's recent missteps.
Chairman Ray Lane, who becomes executive chairman with a mandate to help Whitman run a sprawling US$120 billion empire with more than 300,000 employees, tried to assure disillusioned investors by saying HP is making a fresh start with a new CEO and a virtually revamped board of directors.
Lane vowed that the days of board dysfunction - the wire-tapping scandal, the firing of Mark Hurd after a sexual harassment probe, and the hiring of Apotheker - were over.
The board works well together, he said. "They are smart, bring great insight and I think we make good decisions."
Analysts speculated that Apotheker's departure might presage a backtracking on major decisions taken during his 11-month term. But HP reassured investors the board will not reverse course.
Whitman transformed eBay from a few dozen employees in 1998 into a global Internet retail powerhouse, but the final years of her reign were marked by sputtering growth, intensifying Wall Street criticism and unwise acquisitions.
Whitman defended her record. "I bring leadership, management skills, vision, communications and an execution orientation to deliver the result, she said."
She said HP remained committed to completing a review of its PC division before the year ends, and expected to close the $12 billion acquisition of British software maker Autonomy Corp Plc.
HP shares closed down 4.8 percent at US$22.80.
The decision was made without a formal CEO search and piled renewed criticism on the board, which investors have blamed, at least in part, for the company's recent missteps.
Chairman Ray Lane, who becomes executive chairman with a mandate to help Whitman run a sprawling US$120 billion empire with more than 300,000 employees, tried to assure disillusioned investors by saying HP is making a fresh start with a new CEO and a virtually revamped board of directors.
Lane vowed that the days of board dysfunction - the wire-tapping scandal, the firing of Mark Hurd after a sexual harassment probe, and the hiring of Apotheker - were over.
The board works well together, he said. "They are smart, bring great insight and I think we make good decisions."
Analysts speculated that Apotheker's departure might presage a backtracking on major decisions taken during his 11-month term. But HP reassured investors the board will not reverse course.
Whitman transformed eBay from a few dozen employees in 1998 into a global Internet retail powerhouse, but the final years of her reign were marked by sputtering growth, intensifying Wall Street criticism and unwise acquisitions.
Whitman defended her record. "I bring leadership, management skills, vision, communications and an execution orientation to deliver the result, she said."
She said HP remained committed to completing a review of its PC division before the year ends, and expected to close the $12 billion acquisition of British software maker Autonomy Corp Plc.
HP shares closed down 4.8 percent at US$22.80.
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