Meg Whitman fluffs HP’s age, gets corrected by shareholder
Meg Whitman has spent her first six months at Hewlett-Packard talking to customers and employees and learning how the business works, but apparently she didn't get much of a history lesson.
"HP will be 70 in 2014," she said proudly at HP's annual shareholder meeting Wednesday. Few Silicon Valley companies can boast such longevity, she said, and her job now is to set HP up for "the next 70 years."
It's a line Whitman's been using for the past few months as she tries to drum up enthusiasm for the new, reinvigorated HP she hopes to build. The only trouble is, it appears to be wrong, as an elderly shareholder gently pointed out to her.
"I believe HP was founded in 1939," he said during the question-and-answer session after her talk. Wouldn't that make HP 75 in 2014? Read more...
Whitman gives HP harsh report card, outlines recovery plan
Hewlett-Packard has underinvested in its business and become "too complex and too slow," President and CEO Meg Whitman said Wednesday, offering a three-part turnaround plan to get the ailing company back on track.
Speaking to analysts and investors after HP released its financial results, Whitman offered a frank assessment of HP's challenges at the end of her first full quarter on the job.
It was a tough three months for HP, which saw its profit dive 44 percent and revenue decline by 7 percent. Its giant Personal Systems Group, where revenue skidded 15 percent, needs to build more innovative PCs, Whitman said.
"The fact is that, for all that's right with PSG, we underinvested in innovation in the last several years and we've been late to market too often," Whitman said. Read more...
HP customers seek stability with Whitman
Hewlett-Packard customers disconcerted by management shakeups and product strategy shifts are hoping for a stable future with Meg Whitman, who Thursday was appointed the company's new CEO.
Some customers who felt disrupted by recent changes at HP said they want Whitman to stabilize a chaotic situation by quickly and decisively communicating a product road map.
Whitman was appointed HP's CEO to replace Leo Apotheker, who was on the job for only about a year. During his reign, Apotheker set the stage for HP to move away from PCs to focus on the more profitable enterprise hardware, software and services. In August the company said it would acquire software maker Autonomy for $10.2 billion, and also proposed selling or spinning off the PSG (Personal Systems Group), which deals in PCs and mobile devices. HP at the time said it would kill its line of WebOS smartphones and tablets, while retaining the software platform. Read more...
What will Whitman bring to HP?
Doubt may now be the default for assessing Hewlett-Packard's choice of CEOs.
After the ousting of Leo Apotheker, and before that Mark Hurd and Carly Fiorina, HP's board looks shaky when it comes to appointing its top executive.
It was no surprise then that financial analysts were tough on HP's board during a conference call Thursday to hear why Meg Whitman, the former CEO of eBay, was picked as HP's new leader. They wanted details about the selection process and the timeline behind the decision to replace Apotheker.
Ray Lane, HP's executive chairman, was on the defensive about the board's decision-making and, at one point, his frustration showed. Read more...