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HP CEO May Be Sacked
By siliconindia
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Thursday, 22 September 2011, 23:24 IST
Bangalore: Hewlett- Packard (HP) may sack Leo Apotheker, after less than a year on job, as he may be temporarily replaced by former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, sources close to the company told Reuters.
The board of directors, facing shareholder lawsuits and severe criticism from investors, is thrashing out a flock of issues, including whether to name Whitman as the interim CEO, the source said on condition of anonymity.
In case Leo is fired, he would be the third CEO in a row to be ousted by the board of the largest US technology company.
Analysts say the odds may have been stacked against Leo from the beginning. Venture capitalist Ray Lane, who this year assumed chairmanship of the board, has argued that the previous management failed to invest enough in areas such as software and services. "He was doomed from the beginning," said Ticonderoga Securities analyst Brian White. "The die was cast for whoever stepped into that position," he added.
Investors may accept Whitman, a billionaire who joined HP's board this year, on an interim basis. HP had made a surprise choice in appointing Leo, the former CEO of German business software maker SAP AG. He replaced Mark Hurd, sacked last year following an expense report scandal with a female contractor. Hurd was preceded by Carly Fiorina, again fired for betting on a sunset PC industry by buying Compaq.
HP's latest chief is facing similar investor criticism. Leo slashed sales forecasts repeatedly, backtracked on promises to integrate Palm's Web OS software into devices and struggled to halt a 50 percent plunge in the share price.
Leo's possible exit has been viewed by some as merely a matter of time.
