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Hewlett-Packard Co’s board is considering ousting Chief Executive Officer Leo Apotheker after less than a year on the job and replacing him temporarily with former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, a source familiar with the matter said. The board of directors for the largest U.S. technology company will be meeting to consider a host of issues, including whether to name Whitman as the interim CEO, the source told Reuters. No final decisions have been taken on the potential change in HP leadership, the source said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
HP has been facing withering criticism from Wall Street and a raft of shareholder lawsuits over its recent strategic decisions and how it communicated them. Whitman joined HP’s board earlier this year after a failed bid to become California’s governor last year. Chairman Ray Lane has been taking a more visible role in the past few weeks, including accompanying the CEO to visit investors to communicate and clarify HP’s strategy. Last week, he replaced Apotheker at an industry conference to defend HP’s change in strategy and clear the confusion that followed in the market.
Apotheker, former SAP CEO, was a surprise choice to replace the popular Mark Hurd. During his tenure, he slashed sales forecasts repeatedly, backtracked on promises to integrate Palm’s webOS software into a swathe of devices, and struggled to halt a 50 percent plunge in the share price. In August, HP again frustrated investors by killing off a much-touted line of mobile devices including the TouchPad and declaring it may spin off its massive PC division. Apotheker also spearheaded a deal to buy British software maker Autonomy that many considered too costly.
Representatives for Whitman, whose track record at eBay came under attack during her campaign, did not respond to requests for comment. Representatives for HP and the board did not respond to requests for comment. News of Apotheker’s possible ouster was first reported by Bloomberg.
Image courtesy: Reuters
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