Back to Home > Wednesday, Mar 29, 2006 News Posted on Wed, Mar. 29, 2006 email this print this re... CEO'S 1ST YEAR STABILI

Today is the first anniversary of the hiring of Hurd to head HP after the surprise ouster of Fiorina. So far, being boring seems to have paid off: HP's stock has risen 47 percent since he started.

Observers say Hurd, 49, has brought stability to Silicon Valley's legendary computer and printer giant after several years of turmoil -- the tech downturn and the tumultuous merger with Compaq Computer.

During his inaugural year, Hurd has established himself as a low-profile leader who has coaxed profitability out of every business segment, largely by slashing expenses. While employees and analysts are enthused about his accomplishments so far, many wonder whether he can conquer the next big challenge: increasing revenue.

Interviews with 17 employees suggest Hurd's efforts have fanned the cautious hope workers felt on his first day into full-fledged optimism toward the end of his first year. There's a little more swagger in their steps. More smiles on their faces. And more résumés flowing in.

Hurd points out that he is continuing many of the strategies envisioned under Fiorina, who was HP's first CEO hired from the outside and the one charged by the board of directors with shaking up the company.

Hurd declined to be interviewed for this article. But he acknowledged the pressing need to rev up HP's revenue during a 40-minute speech to employees in July -- the day after he announced the layoffs of 10 percent of the company's workforce.

Employees say Hurd has imbued HP with a sense of urgency. He has trimmed bureaucracy to quicken the decision-making process, which on average now requires one person fewer. And he has simplified the organizational structure, getting rid of about 25 percent of the management layers between himself and a customer.

So far, he has been able to minimize the resentment that Fiorina ignited from such a decision. Some employees say that's because he's done a better job explaining the rationale behind the reductions.

After leaving HP, Fiorina has said she would not have changed most of her major decisions. In the year since she left, she has joined the boards of two Washington-area companies as well as traveled the international corporate circuit making speeches at business conferences.

Unlike the choreographed public appearances of some high-profile chief executives, Hurd comes across as uncoached and unscripted. He fiddles with his reading glasses while on stage for corporate meetings, whether he's in front of 100 shareholders at an annual meeting or 150,000 employees during an in-house Web cast. The fidgeting sometimes goes on for eight minutes, as he slides his glasses off the perch of his nose and puts the tip of the frame in his mouth, while others talk.

That image has been so strongly embraced by employees that a rumor spread about Hurd declining an invitation to dine at the White House with other CEOs because he's so focused on returning HP to its tech-titan glory.

While that's an urban legend, Hurd did turn down an opportunity to attend this year's World Economic Forum -- a gathering of corporate celebrities in Davos, Switzerland -- that many of Silicon Valley's top tech CEOs attend every year.

``He prioritizes running the business and spending time with customers,'' said Deborah Nelson, vice president of marketing for HP's technology solutions group.

Hurd also seizes opportunities to build loyalty. He awarded Ann Livermore, an HP executive vice president who had twice been passed over for the CEO spot, with the high-profile perk of representing HP in Davos this year.

Growing HP is daunting because of the company's sheer size. It expects to pull in about $90 billion in revenue for the fiscal year ending Oct. 31. Revenue in 2005 was $87 billion.

This is cache, read story here