Meg Whitman Is Named Hewlett-Packard Chief
Hewlett-Packard named Meg Whitman, the former eBay chief executive, as its new leader on Thursday after a series of blunders by the company’s previous chief, Léo Apotheker, that prompted his departure only 11 months into his tenure.
The upheaval at H.P. followed several weeks of mounting concerns among board members, senior executives and investors about Mr. Apotheker’s handling of a major strategy shift at the company, announced last month, according to interviews with several people briefed on the board’s discussions.
While they said the board still endorsed the strategy change — including a possible spinoff of its personal computer business, the shuttering of a line of mobile devices and the $11.7 billion acquisition of the software maker Autonomy — its members felt that Mr. Apotheker had bungled communicating the plans to H.P. employees and outsiders.
H.P. made the announcement about the leadership shift after the close of the stock market, saying Mr. Apotheker had resigned as chief executive and as a board member.
‘The board believes that the job of the H.P. C.E.O. now requires additional attributes to successfully execute on the company’s strategy,’ the company said in a statement. ‘Meg Whitman has the right operational and communication skills and leadership abilities to deliver improved execution and financial performance.’
Translation - Meg was starting to get bored after her failed bid to win the Governorship of CA.