Apotheker CEO Of HP 11 Months

Apotheker CEO Of HP 11 Months, Hewlett-Packard’s board on Thursday ousted CEO Leo Apotheker after just 11 months on the job, replacing him with Meg Whitman. “I am honored and excited to lead HP,” Whitman said in a prepared statement. “I believe HP matters — it matters to Silicon Valley, California, the country and the world.”

HP’s board said the company needed a change at the top. The company cut its financial outlook three times in Apotheker’s tenure, and on Thursday, HP said it was not confident it would be able to meet its sales targets for the current quarter.
Shareholders sent the stock down more than 40% this year before Fortune and other outlets broke the news this week that the board was considering letting Apotheker go.
“We are at a critical moment and we need renewed leadership to successfully implement our strategy and take advantage of the market opportunities ahead,” said Ray Lane, who on Thursday was named executive chairman of HP’s board.
Lane was formerly an independent, non-executive chair. The company said it will look for someone to fill that independent role on its board.
The chairman said on a conference call Thursday that the board considered many candidates and decided together that Whitman was the right fit.
“I can’t think of a name out there I would select as CEO over Meg,” said Lane.