Leo Apotheker's Last Memo to HP Staff

2:00 PM - September 24, 2011 - By Jane McEntegart - Source : This Is My Next

As Leo says goodbye, he extends a vote of confidence for HP's new leader.

HP yesterday surprised the tech world when it announced that CEO Leo Apotheker was being removed from his position in favor of Meg Whitman. The company said it needed a new leader if it was to successfully carry out its strategy to transform the company. The news was somewhat sudden in that Wednesday's news brought rumors of Meg as a replacement CEO, so Thursday's announcement wasn't a total shock. However, the fact that HP decided to up and hire a new CEO when the old one had been in the saddle less than a year was hard to believe.

Then again, perhaps no, as Leo did make some questionable decisions during his time as CEO of HP. Aside from killing off the TouchPad and Pre and announcing plans to spin off the company's personal systems group, Apotheker's HP has been forced to lower sales forecasts three times and the company stock has dropped nearly 50 percent in value. Serious problems to be sure, but not entirely Apotheker' fault. HP has been in something of a downward spiral for years, dogged by high-profile tablet and smartphone failures, expense account 'irregularities', not to mention the infamous 2005 employee spying scandal, all of which happened under Mark Hurd's watch.

With Apotheker's very brief reign at an end, it's now up to Meg Whitman to turn things around. Failed California gubernatorial candidate and former CEO of eBay, Whitman's plans for the company have not yet been confirmed. However, in the early hours of her term as CEO, Leo's final memo to HP staff has been made public. Apotheker expresses his faith in HP's new leader and says he's confident the company will continue to burn brightly. Check out the memo in full below:

TO/ All HP Employees
FROM/ Léo Apotheker
Dear HP Employees:
This afternoon, HP issued a press release announcing my resignation as president and CEO, positions I have held with great honor this past year. Meg Whitman will assume the role of president and CEO.
As you know, Meg is a technology visionary with a proven track record of execution and has served HP well as a member of the board for the past eight months. Meg will be supported by a broad and deep management team, and I have the utmost confidence that HP will succeed in executing its strategic evolution.
On a personal level, I cannot begin to express the admiration I have for all of you – and what you have accomplished together. Over the past year, we were tasked with developing a strategic vision for HP and I know we have made important contributions to the company’s future.
Your efforts on behalf of HP and your dedication to our customers have inspired me – and I am confident that HP has a bright future because of the talented people that come to work here every day. Thank you for your commitment to HP and for your dedication in serving HP’s customers and partners. It has been a tremendous honor and a pleasure to work with you here at HP.
Sincerely,
Léo Apotheker

Comments

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Comments

lp231 09/24/2011 8:34 PM

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The new CEO will continue with this idiot's plans...

back_by_demand 09/24/2011 8:34 PM

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Quote :Over the past year, we were tasked with developing a strategic vision for HP and I know we have made important contributions to the company’s future.

Yeah, you have dropped HP to the level of junk bonds
Dont let the door hit you in the ass on the way out

doive1231 09/24/2011 9:51 PM

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The problem with HP is that it annoys its customers with over complication and not giving us what we want. Look at their website, it's bonkers.

Annoying your customers=bad.

JohnnyLucky 09/25/2011 1:00 AM

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Sounds like the typical stuff cranked out by the pr department.

livebriand 09/25/2011 2:09 AM

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Spinning off the pc business is a bad idea. It's low profit, but it's quite stable - sure there's the tablet fad - but PCs will still be around for a long time. People actually need to work you know. And getting rid of the palm stuff - seriously, after they just spent a bunch of money on that they are getting rid of it? Give me a break.

BadCommand 09/25/2011 4:21 AM

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Classy departure by a man whom I didn't think was the right fit for HP, but then again who is.

Maybe Yahoo's ex-CEO Bartz could learn a thing or 2 from Apotheker on how to suck it in and move on.

Now HP's Board needs to relieve themselves of their respective duties.

legacy7955 09/25/2011 7:04 AM

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Bottom line is that these Ivory Tower brass hats have become so self centered that they almost completely IGNORE the LONG TERM HEALTH of organizations they work for .....YES THESE CEO/BoD DO NOT OWN THE COMPANY ! THEY ARE EMPLOYEES JUST LIKE THE REST!

To think that this highly paid guy Mr. Apotheker would be so ignorant as to destroy a very stable and viable if not the highest profit business at HP (PSG/PC) , not to mention all the customers that would be affected say VOLUMES about how disconnected these elite corporate types are from reality.

That being said I have a hard time believing that an HP "internal" choice for CEO would have been any worse than the jokes that have been heading it since the late 90s.

oneblackened 09/25/2011 7:17 AM

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legacy7955 :
Bottom line is that these Ivory Tower brass hats have become so self centered that they almost completely IGNORE the LONG TERM HEALTH of organizations they work for .....YES THESE CEO/BoD DO NOT OWN THE COMPANY ! THEY ARE EMPLOYEES JUST LIKE THE REST!To think that this highly paid guy Mr. Apotheker would be so ignorant as to destroy a very stable and viable if not the highest profit business at HP (PSG/PC) , not to mention all the customers that would be affected say VOLUMES about how disconnected these elite corporate types are from reality. That being said I have a hard time believing that an HP "internal" choice for CEO would have been any worse than the jokes that have been heading it since the late 90s.

PSG is a very low margin business - 5% on a good day.

legacy7955 09/25/2011 7:21 AM

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Yes PSG is a low margin business, BUT it IS profitable and HP rules the roost at it. It is the stable rock that HP should use as its foundation, not to mention that as a legacy business it gets HP a lot of exposure around the world and makes them an instantly recognizable name in technology which can also translate to other opportunities. The PC business is their ambassador, if you like, for the entire organization and it has been a darn good one.

Thunderfox 09/25/2011 2:39 PM

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Spend six weeks designing a tablet to compete with an iProduct, then shut down an entire arm of your company when your halfass product does not outsell the market leader. That kind of schizophrenia cannot be called leadership. They need to make a plan and stick to it, and actually try to be good at something, even if it takes some time to achieve.

shqtth 09/25/2011 2:55 PM

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even if its only 5% margin, they build brand name, and that customer might buy other HP products, and also, the can pre-install select software as well as links and brower and have an effect on market. There is an advantage to having a big customer base. Also since they have a brand name, it helps it to sell other products such as servers and/other software solutions they may provide in the future. Also, there is extended warrenty they sell. So even if the PC is low margin, it leds to other sales. ANd since they are big they are able to borrow money if needed for other ventures, and they can buy in volume/parts for huge discounts. A lot of resouces are at their command. THe volume discounts and manufactor agreements may hrelp their other products suck as servers. So one effects another.

cookoy 09/25/2011 4:59 PM

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i just had to read LA's parting memo after reading the last couple lines of the article that he's confident HP will continue to "BURN" brightly. yup, good he's leaving a burning house and getting 25M severance for his efforts.

legacy7955 09/25/2011 6:03 PM

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cookoy :
i just had to read LA's parting memo after reading the last couple lines of the article that he's confident HP will continue to "BURN" brightly. yup, good he's leaving a burning house and getting 25M severance for his efforts.

Yep the elite love to communicate with esoteric messages.

Amazing how these elite CEOs who usually only get the job due to "connections" can not only not perform BUT actually create more serious damage and destruction and still get REWARDED for their folly. The rest of us ordinary employees would be promptly fired for the same incompetence at any job.

Userremoved 09/26/2011 3:49 AM

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No his actual memo was:
I broke your company. Thanks for the money and goodbye.

Anonymous 09/26/2011 10:53 AM

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I read it as 'tremendous horor'

phil kizer 09/26/2011 6:32 PM

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I work for HP and my response is.........meh...

captaincharisma 09/26/2011 8:27 PM

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-1

i figured he would do the firing scene from half baked

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkcoobYUu8g

or

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=NPqdZJNO7dg

lamorpa 09/26/2011 9:20 PM

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One of the best things to do would be to eliminate the HP Department for Half-Assed Ergonomic Designs. I know they've been getting a lot of product out.

svdb 09/26/2011 9:56 PM

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Leo was a fall-guy.
The HP board of directors hired him, but without even interviewing him.
Leo did what the board told him to do.
Meg announced she'd just stick with "Leo's plans" because she was on the board when Leo was hired and because "Leo's plan" was in fact her plan in the first place.

CEO's life at HP is getting shorter and shorter:
John Young : 14 years (1978-1992)
Lew Platt : 7 years (1992-1999)
Carly Fiorina : 6 years (1999-2005)
Mark Hurd : 5 years (2005-2010)
Leo Apotheker : 11 months

svdb 09/26/2011 9:59 PM

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http://www.businessweek.com/news/2 [...] heker.html

svdb 09/26/2011 10:02 PM

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Some guy predicted this whole fiasco last February spot on.
http://www.cringely.com/2011/02/wh [...] t-packard/

legacy7955 09/27/2011 1:32 AM

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The Hewlett and Packard families need to take back control of the company from the idiots on the BoD and take the company private.

eddieroolz 09/28/2011 4:36 AM

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While I'm sure the mess was created earlier than Leo's arrival, he didn't make things better.