With the departure of Enrique Lores, HP board member Bruce Broussard has become the PC and print giant’s interim CEO, effective immediately. Lores announced the leadership shake-up on LinkedIn after sharing the news with HP’s employees.
HP Inc. CEO and President Enrique Lores said Tuesday that he has stepped down from his position and is leaving the company to lead PayPal as its next chief executive.
With his departure, HP board member Bruce Broussard has become the PC and print giant’s interim CEO, effective immediately, according to Lores. Lores announced the leadership shake-up on LinkedIn after sharing the news with HP’s employees.
Lores said that HP’s board plans to conduct a search for his permanent successor.
The disclosure coincided with PayPal’s announcement this morning that Lores, a five-year PayPal board member, would take over the financial tech firm as CEO from Alex Chriss.
Lores had served as HP’s president and CEO since 2019, roughly four years after the company separated from the server vendor now referred to as HPE. He joined the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company 36 years ago as an engineering intern.
“Since then, HP has been woven into my identity and my family story—my wife Rocio and I built our life in Palo Alto so I could be part of the HP team, and my three sons have only ever known life with HP,” Lores wrote on LinkedIn.
In announcing the CEO change, HP said that Broussard, a board member since 2021 and a longtime health care executive, will “advance the company’s strategic priorities by leveraging his proven operational, financial, and business management expertise as well as his deep knowledge of HP’s business.”
“This is an important time in HP’s history as the company advances its plan to lead the Future of Work,” said Chip Bergh, chairman of HP’s board, in a statement. “Disciplined execution is delivering consistent progress in a dynamic environment. We are confident that Bruce will successfully drive the company’s initiatives forward, working closely with HP’s strong leadership team.
The company also reaffirmed its outlook for the first quarter, which ended on Jan. 31, and the full fiscal year, saying that it still expects non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share to be in the range of 73 cents to 81 cents. The non-GAAP estimate excludes 15 cents per share related to restructuring and other charges, including for acquisitions and divestitures.
The CEO for a top HP partner, who did not want to be identified, said that he was “shocked” by the sudden departure of Lores especially in the midst of the memory shortages and price increases roiling the PC market.
“In a market that is so volatile it is concerning to see the CEO of one of the top PC manufacturers walking away at a time when the company should be doubling down on leadership and trying to keep consistent in what they are doing,” said the CEO. “This is a time when HP should be sending a strong positive message to the market, customers and the channel saying, ‘We are here for you. We are going to get through this.’”
The CEO said he sees Dell Chief Operating Officer Jeff Clarke, who took the reins of the Dell client business last July, mounting a Dell PC market share resurgence.
“Dell is getting really aggressive but they are also being very transparent about pricing, supply and shipments working closely with the channel,” he said. “Under Jeff’s leadership I see Dell gaining share especially in the wake of the HP CEO shakeup.”
Additional Reporting By Steven Burke
