If there's one the thing market hates, it's uncertainty.
That capriciousness is weighing on Hewlett-Packard's
Here's a brief recap. Carly Fiorina served as HP's CEO from 1999 to 2005, when Mark Hurd took over until his high-profile ouster last year. Oracle
Earlier this week, The New York Times came out with a must-read report on how the majority of HP's haphazard board voted Apotheker in without ever meeting him. They were "just too exhausted from all the infighting," according to one of the directors who opted out of a meet-and-greet. I thought I was exaggerating when I implied that the board hadn't given Apotheker's resume a look-see, but it looks like I hit it pretty close to home.
In statements that I'm going to go ahead and call disingenuous, Whitman and HP Chairman Ray Lane have both pledged to continue on the path that Apotheker embarked on in August. The duo has said that there are no immediate changes to those plans, and that the company continues to investigate the potential of spinning off the PC unit while proceeding with the purchase of Autonomy.
In my Foolish opinion, Apotheker got booted after a short year because the board didn't like where he was taking the company, contrary to their public statements of support. Whitman and Lane's comments on standing behind Apotheker's grand plan are probably meant to smooth over the transition and save the company some face amid the poorly handled debacle. I won't be surprised if Whitman chooses to keep its PC business and, who knows, maybe even revive the TouchPad.
Let's just hope she doesn't pursue any dubious acquisitions.
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