Laugh Loud and Often

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Less than two months after firing the flamboyant Carly Fiorina as president and CEO, Hewlett-Packard Co.'s board of directors has selected a relatively obscure, Midwestern management expert to engineer a turnaround at the struggling computer company.

Mark Hurd, 48, a 25-year veteran with computer services company NCR Corp., will take charge at HP on Friday. Business experts praised the appointment, which some said was a blatant indictment of Fiorina's aggressive management style. More from AP ->

I guess I'm a bit superstition, but Mark Hurd's official start date to join HP is April 1, otherwise known as April Fool's Day. How serious are we suppose to take this news?

This is an interesting move for HP .. they must have had enough of Carly's showmanship and needed someone more sensible (no more rockstars!). I wonder why they didn't choose Ann Livermore for the position .. this is the second time she's been passed up for the top post. Hurd is gonna have to move fast and communicate his visions for the company, as there are lots of industry pundits who will compare him to Platt and Carly.

Hurd's reputation for maintaining a non-public image is gonna be a be big advantage, this allows him to focus on getting to know HP. However, HP's culture is still very 'touchy-feely,' so he'll need to be visible to employees from the get-go .. the HP Way still lingers even after Czarly's reign. He also has a reputation for running a tight ship; this can only mean, yet again, more lay-offs are in store for the many people still at that wonderful company.

Oddly, Hurd is taking the HP helm just less than a couple of months after Carly's public ousting. This can only mean that HP's been searching for her replacement long before she was actually pushed out .. maybe there was a conspiracy within HP's board long before her public humiliation.

This makes me think of a couple of things: during Carly's ousting, HP board said they wanted Carly to have an operations person to work closely with here .. will Hurd also share HP's helm with another person, and if so, then who? Also, Carly got a nice $21M 'golden parachute' - what is Hurd's exit package like?

HP's hosting a coronation conference call tomorrow to crown king Hurd .. what questions would you ask Hurd et al if you could?

Links of interest:

• Hurd Joins HP - press release
• The Register - profile of Mark Hurd