Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) replaced Chief Executive Officer Leo Apotheker with Meg Whitman, asking the former head of an e-commerce company to turn around a computer maker plagued by slowing growth and management missteps.
Apotheker, CEO for less than 11 months, was ousted after cutting sales forecasts three times and making strategy shifts that blindsided investors. Palo Alto, California-based Hewlett- Packard also said Chairman Ray Lane will become executive chairman. Both changes are effective today.
Whitman’s challenge will be boosting revenue while assuaging investors, whose dismay fueled a 47 percent plunge in Hewlett-Packard stock under Apotheker. Her experience at consumer-oriented companies such as EBay Inc. (EBAY), Procter & Gamble Co. and Hasbro Inc. may leave her ill-equipped to run Hewlett- Packard’s business-computing divisions, said Shaw Wu, an analyst at Sterne, Agee & Leach Inc. in San Francisco.
“She’s going to be heavily scrutinized,” said Wu, who has a “neutral” rating on the shares. “She doesn’t have the background to turn around HP.”
An estimated 25 percent of Hewlett-Packard’s sales come from consumers, Wu said. “What about the other 75 percent?”
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