San Francisco: Hewlett-Packard Co named Leo Apotheker, the former head of German software company SAP, its new chief executive in a surprise appointment.
Hewlett-Packard's shares dropped 3 per cent in after-hours trading.
The recruitment of the long-time software industry veteran and Silicon Valley outsider — who left SAP abruptly after just seven months at the helm amid a wave of customer complaints — disappointed some who worried about his ability to steer a diverse, $130 billion (Dh478 billion) hardware and services company.
Apotheker, a multi-lingual salesman schooled in economics and international relations, succeeds Mark Hurd, who quit amid a scandal involving a female contractor. Apotheker also was named to HP's board.
Ray Lane, a well-known venture capitalist and former top executive at software giant Oracle Corp, will fill the chairman's post that Hurd also had occupied.
The top job at HP offers a unique opportunity to lead a technology icon but comes with big challenges and expectations. Unlike in 2005, when Hurd took over an HP in disarray, Apotheker will be at the helm of a well-run company whose investors will not be sated with another round of cost cuts.
HP said Apotheker helped transform research and development at SAP, while driving expansion.
In an interview with Reuters, Apotheker said he would focus on innovation and growth. He acknowledged the challenge of HP's size and complexity, but underscored the company's "deep and talented" management team.
Apotheker — who helped steer the first major round of job cuts at SAP — said under his stewardship HP would not relent in its efforts to drive efficiency.
