HP Board to Consider Kicking CEO Leo Apotheker to the Curb
Leo Apotheker, CEO of Hewlett Packard, may soon have to look for a job. Apparently HP's board isn't real stoked about the way Mr. Apotheker has been running things since he was put in charge less than 11 months ago, and there's going to be a meeting to discuss his future -- or lack thereof -- with the company.
According to a Bloomberg report, HP's board of directors might end up handing the CEO position on an interim basis to Meg Whitman, who previously served as CEO of eBay. The move would come on the heels of a dramatic shift in strategy by HP, one in which the company has abandoned webOS hardware and made plans to spin-off or sell its Personal System Group (PSG) division. These are both questionable moves, and combined with HP's stock taking a nosedive to the tune of 47 percent during his tenure, the board appears ready for a change.
It seems investors are more than open to the idea as well. After Bloomberg reported the possible ousting of Apotheker, HP's stock jumped 6.1 percent. Part of that can be attributed to HP's $10.3 billion acquisition of Autonomy Corp., a big sum that, along with the overall shift in strategy, has investors spooked about HP's future.
If Apotheker is shown the door, he will have barely outlasted his time as CEO of SAP, in which he served in that role for 10 months.
According to a Bloomberg report, HP's board of directors might end up handing the CEO position on an interim basis to Meg Whitman, who previously served as CEO of eBay. The move would come on the heels of a dramatic shift in strategy by HP, one in which the company has abandoned webOS hardware and made plans to spin-off or sell its Personal System Group (PSG) division. These are both questionable moves, and combined with HP's stock taking a nosedive to the tune of 47 percent during his tenure, the board appears ready for a change.
It seems investors are more than open to the idea as well. After Bloomberg reported the possible ousting of Apotheker, HP's stock jumped 6.1 percent. Part of that can be attributed to HP's $10.3 billion acquisition of Autonomy Corp., a big sum that, along with the overall shift in strategy, has investors spooked about HP's future.
If Apotheker is shown the door, he will have barely outlasted his time as CEO of SAP, in which he served in that role for 10 months.
