Even before the removal of HP CEO Leo Apotheker had been officially announced by the tech giant, chatter on the web was already dubbing him as its fall guy.

His 11 month tenure, though short, was anything but uneventful. Apotheker had swept into HP at the end of September 2010 after the company suffered a particularly messy break up with former CEO Mark Hurd.

The firm was, arguably for the first time in years, in the middle of attempting to break into fresh sectors - the $1.2 billion purchase of Palm just months earlier would result in HP taking on Apple and Google with the launch of both smartphones, and the firm's debut tablet, TouchPad.

When HP announced it was pulling out of both markets less than a year later as well as getting out of the PC business, commentators suggested the move had Apotheker written all over it – a decision that, it's now revealed, would the result in the loss of hundreds of jobs, taken by a man never interested in the webOS business in the first place.

Putting in some distance

Yet, with Apotheker gone, HP can now brush such moves under the carpet.

Some maintain the decisions he took needed to be taken, but the company itself is now in a position to distance itself from their unpopularity.

"On a personal level, I cannot begin to express the admiration I have for all of you – and what you have accomplished together," Apotheker said in his final internal memo to HP employees.

"Over the past year, we were tasked with developing a strategic vision for HP and I know we have made important contributions to the company’s future.

"Your efforts on behalf of HP and your dedication to our customers have inspired me – and I am confident that HP has a bright future because of the talented people that come to work here every day."

In his place has stepped up former eBay CEO Meg Whitman – someone who, in HP's own words, has the "additional attributes" the company now needs to forge ahead.

Experience, execution, and eBay

"We are fortunate to have someone of Meg Whitman’s calibre and experience step up to lead HP," said HP's Ray Lane, himself promoted from from non-executive chairman to executive chairman of the board of directors.

"We are at a critical moment and we need renewed leadership to successfully implement our strategy and take advantage of the market opportunities ahead. Meg is a technology visionary with a proven track record of execution.

"She is a strong communicator who is customer focused with deep leadership capabilities."

Whitman, who headed up eBay for more than a decade, has served on HP's board for the past eight months, and will also take up the position as company president.

"I am honoured and excited to lead HP," added Whitman.

"I believe HP matters – it matters to Silicon Valley, California, the country and the world."

No friend of Leo

Apotheker's next step is unclear, though according to Computer World, Lane has already gone on record to say HP was "embarrassed" by the way he announced the company's intention to spin off its PC business and shut down webOS.

"There were three or four areas we had concerns about [in regards to Apotheker]," Lane is quoted as saying.

"One, this is a big, big company that requires an executive team to be on the same page. We didn't see an executive team that was working on the same page or working together.

“Probably the biggest reason was operational execution: the ability to get down deep in the businesses and understand the dynamics."

Lane also pointed out that Apotheker had been hired less than year earlier not by HP's current board, but by its members' predecessors.

"This is not the board that fired Mark Hurd," he concluded. "This board did not select Leo."

[source: HP]