Meg Whitman

Business
January 10, 2013
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HP CEO Whitman

Whitman says it will take five years to turn HP around

By on January 10, 2013 at 6:00 PM.

Whitman says it will take five years to turn HP around

To understand what an unholy mess HP (HPQ) is in right now, consider that CEO Meg Whitman says she needs more time to fix the company than she would have had to fix the entire California economy if she’d been elected governor. In a long Businessweek article about HP’s current turmoil, Whitman says that it will take her five years to execute her full plan to turn the company around. Whitman acknowledges that “some people don’t like that answer” when they ask her how long it will take, but she says it’s simply a reality at this point. More →

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Business
March 30, 2012
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Apple’s Tim Cook named most popular CEO of 2012

By on March 30, 2012 at 8:30 PM.

Apple’s Tim Cook named most popular CEO of 2012

Glassdoor on Friday revealed its latest list of the “Top 25 Highest Rated CEOs of 2012.” Apple’s Tim Cook took the top spot with a 97% approval rating, leading Ernst & Young’s Jim Turley, Qualcomm’s Paul Jacobs and Google’s Larry Page. “I think leadership is doing an amazing job,” said one Apple employee. “We have the best management team anywhere.” When Steve Jobs stepped down in August 2011, the late Apple co-founder garnered a cumulative approval rating of 97%, however Cook leads Jobs’s rating of 95% from March 2010 to March 2011. While it has been a tough year for Hewlett-Packard, the company’s new CEO Meg Whitman also made the list with an 80% approval rating, placing her in the  No. 24 spot. Glassdoor bases the list entirely on feedback from anonymous employees who were asked one question — do they approve of the way their CEO is leading the company? More →

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Tablets
February 24, 2012
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HP hopes to launch a Windows 8 tablet this year

By on February 24, 2012 at 6:05 PM.

HP hopes to launch a Windows 8 tablet this year

Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman on Thursday said that the company has a bright future ahead, although it will take some time to rebuild after a year of disappointment, reports The Wall Street Journal. Within two to three years, Whitman expects the company to best be known for cloud computing, security and tools that help businesses better manage their data. Whitman also announced that the Palo Alto-based manufacturer plans to release a tablet later this year that will run Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 8 operating system. The company’s previous tablet, the HP TouchPad, ran webOS and was canceled two months after its lackluster launch. As for how the company intends to position its upcoming tablet, Whitman believes the best way for HP to gain tablet market share is to focus on the enterprise market. More →

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mobile
February 3, 2012
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HP CEO says webOS will be better than ‘fragmented’ Android and ‘closed’ iOS

By on February 3, 2012 at 12:00 PM.

HP CEO says webOS will be better than ‘fragmented’ Android and ‘closed’ iOS

Though Hewlett-Packard was unable to produce webOS devices that consumers were interested in buying — at a positive margin, at least — CEO Meg Whitman still thinks the beleaguered platform has legs. After unsuccessfully trying to sell or license webOS, HP decided late last year to donate its $1.2 billion platform to the open source community. The firm still plans to launch new webOS devices in the future, however, and Meg Whitman explained HP’s position while speaking with CRN. Read on for more. More →

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Business
December 29, 2011
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Looking back at 2011: HP kills, revives and then open sources webOS

By on December 29, 2011 at 2:00 PM.

Looking back at 2011: HP kills, revives and then open sources webOS

There’s no question about it: HP made one of the biggest blunders of the year when it comes to how the company handled Palm and webOS. During the past 12 months, HP relieved one CEO who was hired less than a year earlier in October 2010, killed off its webOS hardware, hired another CEO, brought webOS back from the dead and then open sourced it. The company also announced that it would discontinue its Pre, Veer and TouchPad products, but then flip-flopped and said we can expect new webOS devices in the future. It’s a confusing company to say the least, so let’s start all the way at the beginning and trace the curious path HP took with webOS this year. More →

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Tablets
December 9, 2011
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HP CEO confirms new webOS hardware on the way, tablets possible

By on December 9, 2011 at 3:50 PM.

HP CEO confirms new webOS hardware on the way, tablets possible

HP announced on Friday that it will open-source its webOS mobile operating system, which once upon a time powered smartphones and a single tablet. Even though the company said quite some time ago that it was killing off it webOS hardware efforts, HP CEO Meg Whitman said in an interview with The Verge on Friday that HP plans to create new webOS-based devices in the future. “The answer to that is yes but what I can’t tell you is whether that will be in 2012 or not,” Whitman said when asked about the potential for new hardware. “But we will use webOS in new hardware, but it’s just going to take us a little longer to reorganize the team in a quite different direction than we’ve been taking it in the past.” Whitman declined to elaborate on what webOS devices HP plans to build, but she did say tablets are possible. More →

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Business
November 21, 2011
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HP beats street in Q4; cautious outlook for 2012

By on November 21, 2011 at 8:30 PM.

HP beats street in Q4; cautious outlook for 2012

HP reported its fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year earnings on Monday, noting net revenue of $32.3 billion for the quarter, down 3% year-over-year. HP’s diluted earnings per share of $1.17 in the fourth quarter was also down 12% year-over-year. Fiscal 2011 GAAP net revenue was $127.2 billion, up 1% from the $126 billion HP reported in 2010. Despite beating analyst expectations of $32.05 billion in net revenue and earnings of $1.13 per share, the company said it is cautious as it looks into 2012. Read on for more. More →

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mobile
November 8, 2011
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HP may decide fate of webOS tonight

By on November 8, 2011 at 2:40 PM.

HP may decide fate of webOS tonight

HP is reportedly holding a meeting Tuesday night during which it may decide the fate of its webOS mobile platform, The Verge reported on Tuesday. The meeting will take place after the market closes and will be led by CEO Meg Whitman at 4:30 p.m. PST. According to Reuters, HP has been toying with the idea of selling the unit and possible suitors include Amazon, Intel, Oracle, Research In Motion and IBM. The potential sale will likely fetch far less than the $1.2 billion that HP paid to acquire Palm in 2010. HP originally said it was killing off webOS hardware in August, and recent reports have suggested HP will soon put the final nail in the webOS coffin and subsequently lay off 500 webOS employees.  More →

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Business
October 28, 2011
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HP may layoff 500 employees, finally bury webOS

By on October 28, 2011 at 12:15 PM.

HP may layoff 500 employees, finally bury webOS

HP said earlier this year that it was planning to kill off its webOS hardware business, and reports suggested it was planning to sell the division to another company or that it might use the mobile operating system for smaller side projects. The Guardian reported on Friday that HP may kill off the division entirely and terminate as many as 500 employees who work with webOS. “There’s a 95% chance we all get laid off between now and November, and I for one am thinking it’s for the best,” an anonymous HP employee reportedly told The Guardian. HP has not pulled the trigger yet, however, and if its 180-degree turnaround on a decision to keep its PSG business as part of the company is any indication, we won’t know the webOS verdict until new CEO Meg Whitman hammers the final nail in its coffin or announced that it will be reborn.  More →

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Business
October 5, 2011
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HP to decide fate of PC division this month

By on October 5, 2011 at 9:05 AM.

HP to decide fate of PC division this month

HP’s newly appointed CEO Meg Whitman said the company will decide this month whether or not it is going to spin off its personal systems group (PSG). “We have to make a final decision about what to do with the PC division,” Whitman said. “It’s a decision I want to make much faster than my predecessor. I want to make it before the end of October.” HP’s former CEO Léo Apotheker originally said the verdict would be determined by 2012. Earlier this month, the company’s chairman Ray Lane explained he will “lobby” to keep HP’s personal systems group if his firm “can’t offer a better proposition to customers and investors.” Lane explained HP will likely still call the PSG group “HP PC Business” even if a spin off does occur, and he said the PC business may be more successful outside of its parent company because it is on a different track than HP’s enterprise business. More →

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Business
October 3, 2011
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HP finalizes Autonomy acquisition

By on October 3, 2011 at 11:30 PM.

HP finalizes Autonomy acquisition

HP announced on Monday that it has followed through with its intentions to acquire Autonomy and has purchased the enterprise information technology firm for £25.50 per share in cash. HP will allow Autonomy to operate as an entirely separate arm; Autonomy will continue to be led by its founder and CEO Dr. Mike Lynch, who will report to HP’s newly appointed CEO Meg Whitman. “We are committed to helping our customers solve their toughest IT challenges,” HP president and chief executive officer Meg Whitman said. “The exploding growth of unstructured and structured data and unlocking its value is the single largest opportunity for consumers, businesses and governments. Autonomy significantly increases our capabilities to manage and extract meaning from that data to drive insight, foresight and better decision making.” Read on for the full press release. More →

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Breaking
September 22, 2011
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Former eBay chief Meg Whitman replaces Apotheker as HP CEO

By on September 22, 2011 at 4:27 PM.

Former eBay chief Meg Whitman replaces Apotheker as HP CEO

Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman has officially replaced Leo Apotheker as the CEO of HP. Unlike Apotheker, Whitman has experience working in the consumer market after spending 10 years with eBay. Ray Lane will assume the executive chairman position on the board of directors. “We are fortunate to have someone of Meg Whitman’s caliber and experience step up to lead HP,” Lane said. “We are at a critical moment and we need renewed leadership to successfully implement our strategy and take advantage of the market opportunities ahead. Meg is a technology visionary with a proven track record of execution. She is a strong communicator who is customer focused with deep leadership capabilities. Furthermore, as a member of HP’s board of directors for the past eight months, Meg has a solid understanding of our products and markets.” Read on for the full press release from HP. More →

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Business
September 21, 2011
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HP may oust Apotheker for former eBay CEO Meg Whitman

By on September 21, 2011 at 1:45 PM.

HP may oust Apotheker for former eBay CEO Meg Whitman

HP may replace current CEO Leo Apotheker with former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, AllThingsD reported on Wednesday. Reportedly, HP board members are not pleased with “a series of management mishaps,” inside HP. It is unclear if those mishaps are related to HP’s recent decision to kill off its webOS devices and spin off its PC business, which resulted in recent job cuts from the former Palm team. The board may be more upset HP’s stock has tanked more than 40% since Apotheker took the reins in September, 2010. In any case, if Apotheker does get relieved of his duties as CEO, one analyst has suggested he will still have made $9.4 million for the year. Whitman, who is also on HP’s board, is reportedly interested in the job but the appointment is far from official, AllThingsD said. Whitman’s experience in the consumer market might help HP if ever does decide to revive the TouchPad and other webOS hardware efforts. Whitman served as eBay’s chief executive for 10 years until 2008 before trying her hand in politics. More →

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