HP Names Former SAP Head Léo Apotheker New CEO

HP’s Board of Directors has announced that it has chosen Léo Apotheker, the former CEO of German enterprise software company SAP, as the company’s new CEO.

Léo Apotheker will replace interim CEO Cathie Lesjak and join the company’s Board of Directors on November 1. The Board also elected Ray Lane, a managing partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, as non-executive chairman of the board.

Early last month, HP ousted Mark Hurd as CEO [mashable link] following a sexual harassment scandal. The drama continued when his alleged victim spoke up[mashable link]. Tech circles debated whether HP’s board should have forced Hurd out before Oracle hired him as co-president [mashable link] of the company.

Netscape founder and HP board member Marc Andreessen was tapped to lead the search for HP’s new CEO. While there was a great deal of discussion of promoting someone internally in HP (particularly Todd Bradley, HP’s EVP of the personal systems group), the Board decided to bring in an outsider once again to lead the company.

Is Apotheker the right man to lead HP? Let us know what you think.

[via mashable]

Posted in: HP