VARs Want Mark Hurd II As Next HP CEO

Solution providers want the next CEO of Hewlett-Packard to be a strong leader, to have an active interest in the channel and to back up his or her statements with action. In other words, they want the person to be a lot like Mark Hurd.

Hurd, who resigned last week after an internal investigation found he didn’t live up to HP’s Standards of Business Conduct, was a popular figure among HP VARs and it won’t be easy to find a replacement, said some HP channel partners.

’I had the weekend to ponder it and it’s still just a tough way to start a Monday,’ said Rick Chernick, CEO of Camera Corner Connecting Point, Green Bay, Wisc. ’I liked Mark. I liked what he did for the company, his philosophy of doing business. What happened is just a shame.’

While HP’s board appointed CFO Cathie Lesjak as the interim CEO, a job she has said she has no interest in filling on a permanent basis, Chernick and other solution providers hope that the company fills the position sooner than later.

’They’re right in the middle of [releasing] some exciting new products and integrating acquisitions. Everything was rocking. It’s real important that the board makes it happen as fast as they can and bring in the right person,’ Chernick said.

He added that he’d like to see Todd Bradley, executive vice president of HP's Personal Systems Group, get a shot to replace Hurd.

’He’s got big shoes to fill but in my opinion, he gets it too. Mark brought him in and he’s real good to resellers. That’s important from my own selfish perspective. We had him up here to met with 25 top business executives in the area about six months ago. He was well received. He’s a straight shooter,’ Chernick said. ’If I had to pick right now, I’d keep him here and get him in that position. I don’t even know if he even wants it.’

Daniel Duffy, CEO and CIO of Valleny Network Solutions, an HP Gold partner in Fresno, Calif., said the new CEO should take the time to listen, act responsibly and get into the field with VARs, things Hurd was also known for. But he’d also like a new CEO to be a little less focused on cost-cutting.

’As a shareholder, I appreciate the effect of all the cost savings, but as a customer and partner, I would like to see them apply a little more logic and reason to their policies and processes. Too many [decisions] are driven strictly as a cost-savings and CYA [Cover Your A**] effort, rather than doing what’s best for both customers and shareholders, and partners,’ Duffy said.

It might be worth recruiting a new leader from Apple or Research In Motion who could help recruit a more rabid following of customers like those companies have, Duffy said.

’But unlike Apple, they must know how to work with the channel and realize, unlike Michael Dell realized [until] it was too late, that without the channel’s support as their ’feet on the street’, a manufacturer will wither and die,’ Duffy said.

NEXT: Marc Andreessen Heads Search Committee

Michael Noordyke, president of the systems division at Trivalent Group in Grandville, Mich., would like to see HP go outside the company for a CEO because that’s how they found Hurd, who implemented positive changes.

"I’m looking at it from a stockholder viewpoint. The company performed quite well [under Hurd]," Noordyke said.

Dave Butler, president of Enterprise Computing Solutions, a Mission Viejo, Calif.-based solution provider and HP partner, also expects Hurd’s successor to be a newcomer to the company.

’HP has been positioning itself for future growth and has been bringing in a lot of people from outside. So it wouldn’t surprise me that the board would continue in the direction,’ Butler said.

One outsider that John Murphy, executive vice president of Advanced Systems Group, a Denver-based HP and Oracle solution provider, said might be a good choice is Yahoo president and CEO Carol Bartz.

’She's got the leadership skills," he said. ’There's a lot of great momentum going on at HP, and it will be hard to find someone to replace Hurd. The good news is, he left HP a solid business with a strong roadmap.’

It appears the search committee will be led by board member Marc Andreessen. On a call with analysts last Friday, Andreessen said HP would move as fast as possible to find a successor to Hurd.

"But we are going to make sure that we get the right CEO for the company,’ he said on the call.

Andreessen said the board's search committee would be looking for someone with "outstanding strategic and operational skills" and would be considering both internal and external candidates. He declined to identify any possible internal candidates. The search committee consists of board members Larry babbio, John Hammergren, Joel Hyatt and Andreessen.

Mont Phelps, president and CEO of NWN, a Waltham, Mass.-based VAR, said HP should have its pick of top executives interested in the job. "I would think that HP could attract and hire a very high quality person. But the culture and everything is going to change and there'll be big uncertainty. That's how it would be in any big company like that."

Meanwhile, HP’s stock took an expected plunge Monday in the first day of trading after Hurd’s resignation. The company’s shares were trading at $42.89, down $3.12 or 6.8 percent in afternoon trading.

Chad Berndtson, Joseph F. Kovar and Rick Whiting contributed to this article.