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Meg Whitman to be named new HP CEO

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Re: Meg Whitman to be named new HP CEO

#72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Because the board in older companies usually consists of people with MBAs from expensive schools who just don't get technology ( Is that true? here's your chance to get a data point. Show me which people on HP's board hold MBA's http://h30261.www3.hp.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=71087&p=irol-g...

Here's the breakdown: Andreesen - no mba ( http://www.nndb.com/people/442/000022376/ ) Apotheker - no mba ( http://www.nndb.com/people/417/000253655/ ) Babbio - MBA ( http://www.nndb.com/people/159/000124784/ ) Baldauf - masters in econ ( http://www.nndb.com/people/177/000124802/ ) Banerji - MBA ( http://bx.businessweek.com/kellogg-school-of-management/shum... ) Gupta - MBA ( http://www.nndb.com/people/889/000168385/…

Lane's the chairman though. Does that count for anything?

Re: Meg Whitman to be named new HP CEO

#73

I am just a dumb developer, so I am probably not quite getting the subtle management logic at play here, but what's with random incompetents being appointed CEOs and paid millions of dollars to make things worse or at least not much better? (Bartz at yahoo, Apotheker at HP)It seems like a systemic inefficiency to me. (btw this is a genuine question, not snark. I'd appreciate anyone versed in how boards etc work enlig…

I was with you until you mentioned Bartz as an example. She was actually really good as the head of Autodesk. Yahoo has languished, but at least she didn't make any company killing decisions like Fiorina or Apotheker.

It was a huge gamble bringing a successful enterprise software CEO into a media company and it failed.

Re: Meg Whitman to be named new HP CEO

#74
post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do people think of Meg Whitman's record at eBay? From her Wikipedia page: During her ten years with the company she oversaw expansion from 30 employees and $4 million in annual revenue to more than 15,000 employees and $8 billion in annual revenue. [1] Seems pretty impressive to me. It's also easy to forget how many companies tried and failed in this space, including the likes of Yahoo. [1] http://en.wikipedia.o…

The growth is impressive, but did Whitman cause it to happen, or did she manage it as it was happening? My opinion is that she managed it as it was happening. That may make her a competent manager, but I think HP needs much more than just a competent manager. HP should be about technology leadership, especially if the commodity PC business is sold off.

You can ask that question about almost any leader, especially non-founder CEOs -- were they just sitting on top for the ride or did they do it themselves. One thing that Meg Whitman definitely executed was the acquisition of PayPal which is now responsible for probably $20+ billion of EBay's enterprise value.

Re: Meg Whitman to be named new HP CEO

#75
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Completely agree, looking at it from the viewpoint of a seller before Meg ran it into the ground. Yes, you HN Virginia's, she did run eBay into the ground. A simple Google search will turn up plenty of people on plenty of forums that can fill you in. The stock price tells the same story.

Where do you go to auction second hand stuff?

I was doing $40K to $60K of additional income a year selling books back in eBay's prime (late 90's, early 00's), so it was a fairly easy move to the Amazon Marketplace for me. I've been looking for another auction site for a decade now, and haven't found one that compares to eBay in its heyday.

Re: Meg Whitman to be named new HP CEO

#76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Because the board in older companies usually consists of people with MBAs from expensive schools who just don't get technology ( Is that true? here's your chance to get a data point. Show me which people on HP's board hold MBA's http://h30261.www3.hp.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=71087&p=irol-g...

Here's the breakdown: Andreesen - no mba ( http://www.nndb.com/people/442/000022376/ ) Apotheker - no mba ( http://www.nndb.com/people/417/000253655/ ) Babbio - MBA ( http://www.nndb.com/people/159/000124784/ ) Baldauf - masters in econ ( http://www.nndb.com/people/177/000124802/ ) Banerji - MBA ( http://bx.businessweek.com/kellogg-school-of-management/shum... ) Gupta - MBA ( http://www.nndb.com/people/889/000168385/…

I only count 7, Are you including the masters in econ?

Re: Meg Whitman to be named new HP CEO

#77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here's the breakdown: Andreesen - no mba ( http://www.nndb.com/people/442/000022376/ ) Apotheker - no mba ( http://www.nndb.com/people/417/000253655/ ) Babbio - MBA ( http://www.nndb.com/people/159/000124784/ ) Baldauf - masters in econ ( http://www.nndb.com/people/177/000124802/ ) Banerji - MBA ( http://bx.businessweek.com/kellogg-school-of-management/shum... ) Gupta - MBA ( http://www.nndb.com/people/889/000168385/…

I only count 7, Are you including the masters in econ?

I count Babbio, Banerji, Gupta, Hammergreen, Livermore, Renier, Thompson and Whitman which make eight.

Re: Meg Whitman to be named new HP CEO

#78
post #54

When the wheels come off a cart as big as HP, it's pretty awe-inspiring. I wonder who's next? Certainly Dell isn't going to get anywhere becoming a "services" company. Too, how many "services" companies does the world really need? Rhetorical question, I suppose.

I suspect it's directly correlated with the number of golf courses.

Re: Meg Whitman to be named new HP CEO

#79
post #54

When the wheels come off a cart as big as HP, it's pretty awe-inspiring. I wonder who's next? Certainly Dell isn't going to get anywhere becoming a "services" company. Too, how many "services" companies does the world really need? Rhetorical question, I suppose.

[deleted]

Re: Meg Whitman to be named new HP CEO

#80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I only count 7, Are you including the masters in econ?

I count Babbio, Banerji, Gupta, Hammergreen, Livermore, Renier, Thompson and Whitman which make eight.

Wow, my math is bad:) I'm sorry I wasted your time.
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