February 9, 2005 Hewlett-Packard's Chief Steps Down, Citing Board Resistance By GARY RIVLIN
arleton S. Fiorina, perhaps the most powerful woman working in corporate America, stepped down as the chief executive officer of the giant computer maker Hewlett-Packard this morning. Ms. Fiorina �was asked to resign due to differences in strategies between Carly and the board,� said a company spokesman, Michael Moeller. The announcement brings to a close a rocky tenure for Ms. Fiorina, who spearheaded a controversial merger with the computer maker Compaq after her appointment in 1999. �While I regret the board and I have differences about how to execute HP�s strategy, I respect their decision,� Ms. Fiorina said in a statement. �HP is a great company and I wish all the people of HP much success in the future.� Robert P. Wayman,Hewlett-Packard�s chief financial officer and a 36-year veteran of the company, was named c.e.o. on an interim basis and was appointed to the board of directors. The decision comes after a rocky six months for Hewlett. Last August, the company missed its financial forecasts for the company�s third quarter, sending shares tumbling. The company�s fourth quarter was in line with expectations but so great was the call on Ms. Fiorina to break up the company that she acknowledged in December, at a meeting with Wall Street analysts, that she had three times discussed a break-up with the Hewlett board but ultimately decided against it. Wall Street analysts who follow Hewlett, led by Steven Milunovich, a Merrill Lynch technology analyst, have argued that the company would be worth more to shareholders if it spun out its lucrative printing and imaging business, which account for more than three quarters of Hewlett�s revenues. �There are no plans to breakup the company,�� Mr. Moeller said. Copyright 2005�The New York Times Company | Home | Privacy Policy | Search | Corrections | RSS | Help | Back to Top ------------------------------------- You are subscribed as [email protected] To manage your subscription, go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/
