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This week in HP

Hewlett-Packard has found a replacement to occupy the chief executive's office.

Steven Musil Night Editor / News
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Steven Musil
2 min read
Less than two months after the ouster of Carly Fiorina, Hewlett-Packard has found a replacement to occupy its chief executive's office.

HP selected Mark Hurd, NCR chief executive, to serve as president and chief executive, with Patricia Dunn retaining the chairwoman title. Hurd is expected to begin his new duties early next month. Hurd is probably best known for his work in helping rescue NCR--owner of Teradata and a maker of automated teller machines, point-of-sale terminals and other technologies.


Mark Hurd

During his tenure as NCR chief executive, the company preannounced higher-than-expected earnings for eight consecutive quarters--prompting some analysts to joke that he was "sandbagging" Wall Street. But once the bulk of the turnaround was complete, Hurd's NCR financial projections were roughly 95 percent in line with Wall Street's estimates.

Being a turnaround artist is just one of Hurd's talents. He also writes business management books. Hurd is co-author of "The Value Factor: How Global Leaders Use Information for Growth and Competitive Advantage," along with NCR Chairman Lars Nyberg. The subject of the slim 127-page volume, published last year by Bloomberg Press, is "how companies transform information into a competitive asset," according to the book's synopsis.

Hurd will get a $2 million signing bonus and a $1.4 million salary for taking the helm at HP, but he stands to make far more if he can successfully boost the company's flagging share price. Hurd will receive 700,000 HP stock options and stands to earn tens of millions of dollars more as part of short-term and long-term bonus programs.