Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman Being Considered for HP CEO Job two Replace Apotheke
Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman is being considered by Hewlett-Packard directors as a possible candidate for CEO, in a move that would replace its current leader Léo Apotheker, according to several sources close to the situation.
The appointment of Whitman — a longtime and experienced Silicon Valley exec, who joined the board of Hewlett-Packard in January — to the top job at HP is by no means a done deal, sources said.
If it occurs, it would be the second major CEO ouster in a short time — Yahoo recently fired its CEO Carol Bartz due to lackluster performance.
Her role there — which has largely been seen as a temporary one — has included acting as a strategic adviser to start-ups and evaluating investment opportunities.
Sources said Whitman — who has also been active with her family foundation — has shown some interest in talking about taking the HP job.
Turning to Whitman would not be a surprise, given there are few execs in tech experienced enough to run such a large and complex organization as HP.
Still, her expertise has mostly been in the consumer space and she has never run what is largely a hardware company and one with major enterprise clients.
So, if appointed, Whitman would need a lot of help, especially to fix one with as many troubles as HP has seen of late.
