HP Selection of New CEO Slammed by Analysts and Market

Yesterday’s long awaited announcement on who would replace Mark Hurd as Hewlett Packard’s HPQ (NYSE) CEO went down with a thud. The selection of Leo Apotheker, a former short lived CEO of SAP, was not hailed by the market nor many analysts. I am on the other side of the fence on this appointment. I think HP’s board has come up with a surprisingly excellent choice.While Apotheker was not very successful while CEO at SAP he faced a great deal of opposition within the organization and more than likely learned what he would need to do to be successful a second time around. SAP’s culture did not fit his needs for change. He should be able to make more change at HP than he was able to accomplish at SAP.

HP’s board appears to have gone strategic in its appointment. Its decision to go outside the firm for its selection should in the long run work out. Apotheker has the right background to help HP move into the software side of the industry in a big way without seriously jeopardizing its current bread and butter businesses. Who knows he might even move to go for an acquisition of SAP or some kind of alliance. If he can manage to keep many of the key players currently at HP and work with them to get the firm’s overall strategy right, he has a great chance at being very successful. He is a strategic thinker and he understands technology.

Shareholders and investors need to give him time to get up to speed. Stay tuned this latest selection may turn out to be a really winner despite the conventional wisdom.

For more:

Gigaom

CEO Watch - Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, Update #1

It’s official Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo is out as CEO of Nokia NOK1V and in his place on September 21 is a former high level software executive from Microsoft, Stephen Elop. Liberum has been talking about the need for change at Nokia going back to October 16, 2009. The change at the top of Nokia was essential. Many analysts have been delighted with the change. The selection of 46 year old Elop has merit. He was in charge of Microsoft’s Business Division and is extremely well versed in software which is the area the Nokia needs to focus on to get its smartphone business at a point where it is capable of competing again with the Apples, Motorolas and Google phones. Elop also has had experience working with Nokia while at Microsoft and in his previous job at Macromedia.

The real question remains can Nokia without a true visionary at the top of the firm make the leap to effectively compete on high end with Apple, RIM, Google and even Motorola. I am somewhat skeptical. Change is certainly afoot at Nokia. Just a few hours earlier, Anssi Vanjoki, Nokia’s smartphone chief and a one time candidate for the CEO position, announced his resignation from the firm. Elop will now have a chance to appoint someone to his own specific liking. The firm desperately needs a visionary at the helm and in some of the key management positions if it has real hope to get back near the top.

Investors must keep a very close eye on new management at Nokia.

Suggested Reading - AIG's New CEO, American Public Media's Marketplace

Scott Jagow wrote a quick read piece on AIG’s new CEO Bob Benmosche for his Scratch Pad column on American Public Media’s Marketplace. Jagow manages to get the essence of how Benmosche in his short stay at his new position has managed to tweak so many. Below is just some of what Jagow mentioned.

… so far, he isn’t making many friends…

It started as soon as Benmosche was hired. His first action as head of AIG was to take a two-week vacation in Croatia. There, he told reporters he wasn’t in any hurry to repay the TARP loan by selling off assets too quickly. This didn’t go over too well with some members of Congress.

Then, he was quoted as saying that New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo “doesn’t deserve to be in government.”

Let’s hope he ultimately does better with the company itself. Stay tuned.

GM's New Chairman Takes His Responsibilities Seriously

GM’s new chairman, Ed Whitacre the former AT&T chairman and CEO, appears to be taking his news responsibilities seriously. According to a story by David Welch in BusinessWeek,

General Motors’ recently installed CEO, Frederick A. “Fritz” Henderson, has had just one board meeting with his new slate of directors. And already they are giving him pressure to show better results.

… (Henderson’s) first board meeting shows a stark contrast from GM’s old board. With a few exceptions, the previous directors showed a lot of patience with ousted Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner. He racked up some $80 billion in losses since 2005 but kept solid backing. The old board also had to focus mostly on costs since the automaker has been in nearly constant restructuring mode for years.

… At the meeting, new Chairman Ed Whitacre, who had previously been chairman and CEO of AT&T (T), and several other directors pressed Henderson on how the company would build revenue, strengthen its brands, and communicate the message that its new products are competitive. “All of their questions were on revenue,” Henderson said, adding that they asked, “What are your metrics? How will you hold yourself accountable?”

While the government has been constantly under criticism for getting involved in the auto industry’s affairs and bailing them out so far, it has demonstrated far more moxy in relation to management than previous shareholders. Let’s hope the new board can really get some results out of GM’s new CEO, Fritz Henderson and his management team. Stay tuned.

AIG's Newest CEO Getting Praise

IG’s latest selection of Robert Benmosche, the former CEO of MetLife, is getting a fair amount of praise before he begins his new job and comes out of retirement. Benmosche gets high praise in a story by Leslie Scism, Joanne S. Lublin and Liam Plevin of the Wall Street Journal (sub req.). The reporters stated:

He will also be the most decisive, direct and tough leader to run the battered insurer since Maurice R. “Hank” Greenberg’s nearly four-decade reign ended amid an accounting scandal in 2005.

Mr. Benmosche, former colleagues say, is willing to upend cozy corporate traditions and make unpopular decisions. His strong personality could be just what AIG and its majority owner, the U.S. government, need to manage the company.

AIG’s subsequent selection of Harvey Golub, the former CEO of American Express, as the company’s new chairman appears to be another feather in the company’s cap. Whether it is the government or the company making the executive selections it appears AIG is at least making some positive moves.

For more:

Insurance Networking News

NY Magazine

Reuters