HP's new CEO shortlist exposed

According to foreign media reports, weekly 41 sources said the HP board is about to decide Hurd's successor and prefers to choose a CEO within the company. The source said the new CEO candidate could be announced next week.

The source asked for anonymity because the list was in private and the board had not yet made a decision. The list of CEO candidates listed by HP's board includes: HP printer Business Director Vomes Josi (Vyomesh Joshi), director of PC Department Tode Bradley (Todd Bradley), head of storage and Server department Dave Donatelli (Dave Donatelli) Tom Hogen (Tom Hogan), executive vice president of corporate Sales and marketing, and executive vice president of Enterprise Operations Ann Livermore (Ann Livermore).

This week Hewlett-Packard directors held a meeting to discuss who would take over Hurd, who resigned August 6. Although recruiting from outside is not ruled out, the HP board may not be digging from rivals, the source said. Hurd was recruited from NCR, and his predecessor, Carlie Fiorina Carly Fiorina, came from Lucent Technology.

The internal selection also allows HP to avoid legal disputes, as some companies prohibit managers from joining rivals. IBM, for example, requires executives to sign a non competitive agreement. Analysts believe that Steve Mills, a former IBM-owned software and hardware business, is one of the potential candidates for HP's CEO, Mills.

Headhunting Company

Although Hewlett-Packard has hired Spencer Stuart to look for CEO candidates, the board will also consider the advice of other headhunters. HP's shares have fallen 13% since Mr. Hurd resigned.

September 6, Oracle announced the hiring of Hurd as co-president. This led HP to sue for an attempt to prevent such action. Hewlett-Packard said that as Oracle President Hurd will inevitably use or disclose HP's trade secrets and confidential information.

Cathie Lesjak, Hewlett-Packard's chief financial officer, Kessi Les Jacques as a temporary CEO after Hurd left. But she said in August that she did not want to be promoted to CEO. The company has been interviewing CEO candidates and is "fairly open-minded" to both internal and external sources, she said at a meeting held at Citi on September 8.

On today's news, HP spokeswoman Mailin Mann Hegglin (Mylene Mangalindan) declined to comment.