Hewlett-Packard fires CEO Leo Apotheker. Replaces him with Meg Whitman

[MIPS]

[quote]Leo Apotheker has been replaced as chief executive of Hewlett-Packard by Meg Whitman, the former head of eBay.

Mr Apotheker was in the job less than a year, but had overseen a collapse in the share price and a fall in sales.

Ms Whitman, who once ran for governor of California, resigned from eBay in 2008 and is credited with building it into a global force.

HP announced the departure after a board meeting, but there had been speculation for days about his future.

In a statement, Ray Lane, who was named executive chairman, said: "We are fortunate to have someone of Meg Whitman's calibre and experience to step up to lead HP.

"We are at a critical moment and we need renewed leadership to successfully implement our strategy and take advantage of the market opportunities ahead."

Ms Whitman, who had been a member of the HP board since January, said in a statement: "I am honoured and excited to lead HP. I believe HP matters - it matters to Silicon Valley, California, the country and the world."

It is the second time in two years Mr Apotheker has been forced out of a top job. He stood down from German business software maker SAP last year, after less than a year as chief executive.

He took over HP after the departure of former boss Mark Hurd, who quit after a sexual harassment investigation.

The new chief replaced a third of the HP board, brought in Ms Whitman, announced plans to sell the personal computer division - the world's largest - and bought UK software maker Autonomy for £7.1bn ($11.7bn).

But his strategy has failed to impress investors. [B]HP's shares have fallen 45.4% this year[/B], making it one of the worst performers in the Dow Jones index of leading US companies.

HP's shares closed down 4.8% at $22.80 on Thursday.[/quote]

[url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15028509]**SOURCE**[/url]

Well now that the asshole is gone hopefully we'll see if the hydra that we call HP still has the ability to put up a fight.

[ewitwins]

So... now that he's gone, should I pick up some HP stocks?

[MIPS]

[QUOTE=ewitwins;32452765]So... now that he's gone, should I pick up some HP stocks?[/QUOTE]
Seeing how Meg Whitman built ebay I'm sure she can't fuck up any worse.

[doonbugie2]

Pretty late, this is a few days old.

[ewitwins]

[QUOTE=MIPS;32452817]Seeing how Meg Whitman built ebay I'm sure she can't fuck up any worse.[/QUOTE]

I'll wait another week to see if stocks dip any lower, and then decide if I want to buy anything.

[sir whoopsalot]

I guess the ironic part is that his name is Dutch for apothecary and he almost ran it into the ground rather than helping it.

[Computermaster]

So this is why HP rebid the contract I was working under and now I'm laid off for a month while they "get their shit together" in the words of my also laid off supervisor.

[Frogz]

Good, I hate to see any company like HP go down the shitter like that. I hope they can resume creating good products like they did in the past.

[TehWhale]

Will we get more TouchPads now?