Ex-HP Executive Says Apotheker Ditched WebOS Prematurely

In a recent interview with author Rick Mathieson, McKinney said HP's original plan for Palm was "to take three years hands-off" to funnel in cash, resources and technical expertise to help the struggling company get back on its feet.

"Palm was going to be given three years to basically get itself positioned to be a market leader in its space," McKinney said in the interview, as reported by WebOS Nation.

It was Apotheker who made the call to kill WebOS -- a decision that McKinney said he had no part in making. "This is an example of not committing long term to the resources and not having patience for innovation," McKinney said in the interview.

Daniel Duffy, CEO of Valley Network Solutions, a Fresno, Calif.-based solution provider, isn’t surprised by this revelation.

"This is another example of how disconnected [Apotheker] was from the needs of his customers, and his teams, and how utterly unqualified he was for the position of CEO of HP," Duffy said. "I'm just glad to see that the company has corrected this and is now moving forward again."

As CTO of PSG, McKinney was responsible for the business unit's technical strategy and R&D efforts. He was also general manager of PSG's gaming business unit, which HP formed in 2006 with its acquisition of VoodooPC. McKinney, who joined HP in 2003, was previously vice president and CTO of HP's now-defunct Network and Server Provider Business.

Last month, McKinney published Beyond the Obvious: Killer Questions That Spark Game-Changing Innovation, a book in which he shares his insights on what it takes to make innovative products.

Last October, in announcing his departure from HP, McKinney made clear his intention to remain active in IT industry circles.

"This is not the traditional retirement," McKinney said in a blog post. "I’m not planning on spending my days playing golf or sitting around the house driving my wife crazy. I have far too much passion, energy and ideas to sit on the sidelines."