September 22, 2000 (Computerworld) --
In a strong vote of confidence in her leadership over the past year, Hewlett-Packard's board voted to add the position of chairwoman to its CEO and President Carly Fiorina. Fiorina will take over from Richard A. Hackborn, who had been serving as "non-executive" chairman of HP since Lewis A. Platt's departure last year, and will continue to serve on the board. In other action today, the board authorized a stock buyback of $1 billion. The authorization is planned to offset dilution associated with employee stock plans. Shares will be purchased in the open market or in private transactions, the company said. In a related announcement, HP said that it remains on track to meet its 15% revenue growth target and consensus analyst earnings estimates of $1.03 per share for the fourth quarter. HP shares soared on the news today, jumping more than 7% to $102 5/16. The leap was in contrast to much of the tech sector, which tanked after Intel yesterday issued a warning saying it would not meet earnings expectations in the third quarter (see story). Fiorina's elevation to chairwoman is an endorsement of her plans to revitalize HP, said Laurie McCabe, an analyst with Summit Strategies Inc. in Boston. "It gives her more visibility and puts her in a better position when she is at the bargaining table," to negotiate deals with other companies, McCabe said. Since taking over as CEO from Platt in July 1999, Fiorina has been trying to accelerate HP's transition from a pure-play hardware vendor to a more broad-based vendor of Internet hardware, software and services. Over the past year for instance, HP has announced a series of Internet infrastructure, services and financing initiatives designed to attract more attention to HP in a market that has been dominated so far by Sun Microsystems Inc. The company's bid to buy consulting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers for an estimated $18 billion is another example of the services and consulting direction that Fiorina has set for HP, McCabe said. "I think HP, like other vendors, has realized that they need to be more than just a hardware player," said Joyce Becknell, an analyst with the Aberdeen Group in Boston. "What Fiorina is trying to do is position HP more as a full-service vendor," Becknell said. Getting there, though, will take some more work, Becknell said. Fiorina still needs to resolve several internal issues, such as finding the right balance between growing its profitable hardware business while expanding into the services arena, Becknell said. Her appointment to chairwoman "consolidates her position and gives her a little more power," to resolve such issues, Becknell said.
"There are lots of discussions going on right now about cloud computing is, I even touched on at least some..."
Read more...
"Need help sorting through the hype of cloud computing? Here's some IDC research on the benefits, barriers -- and what..."
Read more... Read more Servers & Data Center posts or See all Blogs
One positive development stemming from the collapse of Wall Street may be a boost in interest in computer science and IT careers among students who were previously interested in financial services jobs.
(Source: Computerworld) Whether it's in the front office or the server room, green thinking can save energy, trees and money. From the Editorial Staff at Computerworld, here's the latest thinking on greening your operations. Download this executive briefing
Embracing Innovation - The Business Case for PC Blades
Embracing Innovation - The Business Case for PC Blades Watch this webcast now! Go to the webcast
Virtualization Everywhere
Download this white paper, free, compliments of Citrix. (Source: Citrix) Adoption of virtualization is concentrated among large enterprises, while adoption by mid-sized companies has been much slower. For these companies, the cost and complexity of server virtualization solutions has been a barrier.
In this paper, we'll discuss how Citrix XenServer" provides simple, economical server virtualization for any size company. Download now!
Intercept Spam & Viruses With MessageLabs MessageLabs is offering a complimentary 30 day trial of its managed Anti-virus and Anti-spam security solutions. MessageLabs guarantees complete protection against all know and unknown email threats. By providing 24 hour support, your business can increase productivity and decrease risk. Register for a complimentary trial and receive a free datasheet. Download this white paper now!