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[Rumor] Leo is out? Meg Whitman is in?

By: , 9/21/2011 11:55 am | 39 comments

"Apthecollar"Now here is something we didn’t expect [at least not yet - Ed]…All Things D is reporting that Leo is on the ropes and may be leaving the company sooner rather than later.

This news comes as sweet, sweet music to many webOS fans after Leo killed all of our hopes and dreams stopped development of all webOS devices. This isn’t a huge surprise really….in the last year (roughly since Leo took over) HP’s stock has dropped 43%. Ouch.

What is a surprise is the possible replacement…former CEO of Ebay and failed California governor candidate Meg Whitman. Ms. Whitman is known for doing great things at Ebay and is one of the few people on the planet who has run a really big company.

However, not all things are rosy…

“Turning to Whitman would not be not a surprise, given there are few execs in tech experienced enough to run such a large and complex organization as HP.

Still, her expertise has mostly been in the consumer space and she has never run what is largely a hardware company and one with major enterprise clients.

So, if appointed, Whitman would need a lot of help, especially to fix one with as many troubles as HP has seen of late.”

Will this change revive webOS and its devices? No clue…but maybe, just maybe with the crazy sales of the TouchPad coupled with a new direction webOS may see some new life yet…

Update: Apparently Wall Street likes the idea…since news got out, HP’s stock has taken a big leap.

Source: All Things D

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About David Baxter

David is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of webOSroundup. When not toiling away at WOR he is usually with his family, at church, building a website of some kind or another, or playing a video game. @davidbbaxter
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  • Fsierra44

    great news!!

  • @

    She would be a disaster of carly levels. Why do I have to put my name in everything I use this app? Oh I think it lost my settings because it took a long time to download articles on second launch. And I can’t seem to move between articles w/o going back.Forums support would be nice built-in.  
    – sent from webOSroundup XL

    • http://www.arthurthornton.net/ Arthur Thornton

      There isn’t yet a way for the app to save your name and email address but that will be added in with a future update, hopefully next week.

      There is no way to move between articles without going back at this time but that would be a good feature, I will put that on the list of things to add.

      And regarding forum support, that is due to the nature of building in forum support, especially in the one week the app was built from concept to the build you have.

    • Raun

      Agreed. Carly squared

  • MikeW

    Good News for webos. Finally Leo is out.

  • Rob

    Fantastic news about Leo the Destroyer!  I don’t know much about Meg Whitman, but I suppose you couldn’t do worse than Leo.

  • Francisco

    I vote for Todd Bradley for CEO

  • Kingtaco

    These are the best HP news I’ve heard since their earnings call. I like Meg. I like the way she thinks about business. Her governorship plan could have saved California from the out-of-control deficit. I voted for her in the California election. She would be a great CEO for HP.
    – sent from webOSroundup XL

  • http://profiles.google.com/d.dennis.liang dennis liang

    Yes YES YES!!!! Fxxk you Leo, FXXK YOU!!!!! 

    now please continue the webOS hardware

    • Weshouille

      You took the words out of my Palm keyboard.

    • Weshouille

      You took the words out of my Palm keyboard.

    • Weshouille

      You took the words out of my Palm keyboard.

  • http://www.facebook.com/brassplayer Tim Castro

    If HP hires Meg, her first move should be to buy Skype from Microsoft!

  • JDM

    I like Leo. He knows how to effectively and efficiently kill things. Much like a deer hunter using only a machete.

    • Dutch

      Do you mean Nuclear Weapons? A 40% dive in stock value since he began isn’t exactly efficient…

      • http://www.facebook.com/derecuda Derecuda

        It’s pretty efficient if you want to kill a company. He should get sued by every employee.

        • Dutch

          I guess I meant that it isn’t elegant parsimony to torch a city aiming to kill a few deer in its limits…

          • JDM

            Leo is laughing maniacally as he presses the big red button. MUAHAHAHAAHAHAHAH!!

  • MPM

    What are her views on webOS? That is all that matters to me at this point

  • Anonymous

    must be an awesome time to be a professor at a business school. So many great and exciting material to use…all thanks to HP

  • Gr8tfullyblessed

    Hallelujah !!! . . Finally the best news I’ve heard since hearing that the touchpad is an accidental hit . . I’m not saying that Meg is gonna bring back webos devices but leo being out is definitely the right direction

  • Malette

    This rumor needs to become reality like yesterday! I just hope Meg or whoever does handle HP will utilize the greatness that is webOS in a manner it deserves.

  • george

    Go home crazy uncle Leo, and start taking your meds
    – sent from webOSroundup XL

  • Anonymous

    Leo is a disaster, but you can’t put all the blame on him. You have to think that the HP Board hired Leo to do exactly what he has done. If not, then we’re seeing a serious case of buyer’s remorse! I think you will start to see some serious push back against HP board members from stock holders.

  • Deane

    Great news the sooner Leo Leaves the better. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out!

  • Anonymous

    Oh, for Christ’s sake!!! I’m outta here before this situation gets better…This is worse than a soap opera.

    All joking aside, I am moving on. If webOS looks better in a couple of years I’ll be more than happy to come back but for now, I’m hungry for Mangos.

    • JDM

      Would you share what it’s like, here on WOR? I’m curious about Mango.

  • KarenL

    All I have to say is “Remember Carly Fiorina” — Don’t let history repeat itself with “Meg Whitman”

  • lala04

    Ugh…..bringing in Nut-Meg is going to seal HP’s fate. No doubt Leo has to go, but  Whitless is no Savior.

  • depscribe

    le-o le-e-e-e-o, daylight come and ve vant you go home.
    – sent from webOSroundup XL

  • Tayswg20

    Finally! ….. The board should have done this a  long time ago, but hindsight is always 20/20. Its also a lot easier for us armchair CEO’s to make the “better” decisions lol.Love the new app guys! Great work!
    – sent from webOSroundup XL

  • Greg

    What about a promotion from within?  HP has many talented people.  If not someone currently with HP, how about someone that left when they hired Leo or Mark?  A lot of good people left when they were passed over when the Board hired these two losers.

  • webosguy

    I think the best option is VJ, they guy from IPG, this guy have the charisma and leadership internally in HP to revive the HP Way again and leverage the power of WebOS to a new level

  • Thenaziandroid

    I want that jew out now! all he is concerned about is his own pay package which is heavily influenced by HP’s  stock price. Lesson one# Never let a software executive run a harddware company cmon HP get your head out of your ass and think for a change.

  • downthedrain

    Leo is an idiot, thank god

    but if you think meg is the answer, it will just be more sailing the Sean’s with a broken compass

  • downthedrain

    oops, sea’s

  • Sean

    They could bring Pee Wee Herman in and it would still be better than Leo. Leo is a true failure as a CEO. Give that 7 inch Touchpad Go a chance. I’ll buy one the moment it lands.

  • Webos

    Hp needs some one internal Megan and Leo are donkeys

  • Ross Jaburg

    Are you people insane?
    This is the woman who blew $100 million of her own money to NOT GET ELECTED governor of California. Turns out her housekeeper was an illegal alien. If she is in, the writing is on the wall for HP.