Ann Livermore

Insight: How HP's board presided over a train wreck

By Poornima Gupta and Peter HendersonSAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - To fire one CEO, or even two, may be regarded as misfortune; to fire three looks like carelessness.

When Hewlett-Packard Co named Leo Apotheker as its chief executive last year, the majority of the board that hired him had not even met the German executive.That HP's board would appoint a CEO without insisting on an in-person interview with all directors is just one example of what critics say is a pattern of dysfunction behind the meltdown of the technology giant, which traces its roots to the beginning of Silicon Valley itself.The board is expected to name former eBay Inc CEO Meg Whitman to replace Apotheker later on Thursday.It's easy to blame Apotheker, who has cut financial forecasts for three straight quarters, U-turned on key aspects of HP's strategic roadmap, and failed to stem a nearly 50 percent plunge in the company's stock price.But HP's problems go back much further than Apotheker's 11-month tenure. Interviews wi...

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