Published in News

Whitman now chair of HP

by on18 July 2014



Holds all the power

The maker of expensive printer ink HP appears to be keen to bet the farm on Chief Executive Officer Meg Whitman. 

The outfit has appointed Whitman as its chairman on Thursday which effectively gives her supreme control over the company. It is not clear if she gets any additional perks with the job, or more money for approving her own decisions. HP also enlisted Alcoa CEO Klaus Kleinfeld as an independent director, adding a 12th member to its board.

Whitman, who has led the world's largest computer maker since 2011, replaces activist investor Ralph Whitworth, who stepped down as interim chairman this week for health reasons. Gary Reiner, chairman of the HP board's nominating, governance and social responsibility committee said in a news release that Whitman has been an outstanding leader since coming to HP, and the board thinks as chairman she can most effectively drive the turnaround and continue to build value for our shareholders.

Past HP chief executives who simultaneously served as chairman include Mark Hurd, Carly Fiorina, Lewis Platt and David Packard, so it is not unusual.

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