After gambling and apparently losing with its high-profile choice of Carly Fiorina as CEO, Hewlett Packard has taken the conservative route in its recent management re-organization. First it hired former NCR head Mark Hurd as its new CEO, an apparently save move that brings a seasoned, low-profile Midwestern executive into a position formerly held by the flamboyant Fiorina.

Hurd has now brought in R. Todd Bradley, the former head of PalmOne, into the new position of Executive Vice President of the Personal Systems Group, re-splitting the PC group out of a brief unity (dating back to January 2005) with the company's highly profitable printing division. Long-time HP executive Viyomesh Joshi will continue to lead the re-independent printer division.

Bradley's former company, hardware-oriented PalmOne, has thrived in recent years during the growth of the handheld computing industry, in contrast to its sister company, software-oriented PalmSource. Bradley left PalmOne earlier in the year, getting a multi-million dollar separation in the process. At the time, his departure was attributed to him being known more as an operations person rather than the sort of visionary that PalmOne was thought to need. He has also spent time with PC company Gateway during his career.

HP, which saw plenty of vision during the Fiorina era, clearly seems directed towards assembling a more operations-focused team that can execute well within the many moving parts of this very large, complex company.

              
Todd Bradley


Vyomesh Joshi