hp

HP Replaces Leo Apotheker With Meg Whitman As CEO

HP has been like a soap opera of companies in the tech industry for the last couple of years. This time last year the company was embroiled in the Hurd saga, that consisted of lies, sex (or not sex), and scandal. Mark Hurd was replaced as CEO by Leo Apotheker who during his 11 months as CEO decided to kill off what used to be Palm (part of HP) and the excellent WebOS. Now HP have a new CEO: Meg Whitman.

This timeline of Leo Apotheker's time as CEO of HP on Bloomberg.com was what I found interesting. The chap hasn't really been a stable sort of CEO. I think he may be the sort of figurehead/scapegoat boards of directors choose to cut jobs and departments. Quick in, fire a few thousand people, quick out.

Lets see what happens to HP. Will Meg Whitman, former candidate as Governor of California reverse some of the decisions Apotheker made? As much as I would like HP to make a U-turn on WebOS and devices tied to the OS, I think it is highly unlikely since Meg Whitman was on the HP board of directors and probably was one of the Apotheker-puppetmasters...

Shock And Awe Tech News!

This has been an amazingly busy week in the technology business world. I'm bowled over by these two major earthquakes in the tech industry.


Google and Motorola's boards of directors unanimously agreed to the acquisition of Motorola Mobility by Google. Larry Page, CEO of Google, said, “Motorola Mobility’s total commitment to Android has created a natural fit for our two companies. Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers. I look forward to welcoming Motorolans to our family of Googlers.”


Sanjay Jha, CEO of Motorola Mobility, said, “This transaction offers significant value for Motorola Mobility’s stockholders and provides compelling new opportunities for our employees, customers, and partners around the world. We have shared a productive partnership with Google to advance the Android platform, and now through this combination we will be able to do even more to innovate and deliver outstanding mobility solutions across our mobile devices and home businesses.”


So Google will be taking over Motorola. I think the combined company should be called Googorola.


Today there news that was equally as earthshaking to the industry: HP will discontinue operations webOS devices.


I'm personally sad to see the end of WebOS because of how much I love my Palm Pre 2. Oh well, it's not personal, it's just business...


Here are the sources: 


I'm off to weep under the duvet.