Margaret C. Whitman, more popularly known as Meg Whitman, CEO of HP Enterprise Co. and one of Silicon Valley’s most powerful women, will be stepping down from her role after six years and the oversight of one of the largest corporate breakups in recent times.
Antonio Neri, currently serving as a president at HPE and with nearly 25 years of service with the group, will take over her role as chief executive in February 2018.
Neri will join HPE’s board of directors, while Whitman will retain her seat.
During the recent earnings call, speaking in reference to the 2015 split that spun off the company’s printer and PC division as HP Inc. and created HPE as a company primarily focused on networking and servers, Whitman said:
“We have a much smaller, much nimbler, much more focused company. I think it is absolutely the right time for Antonio and a new generation of leaders to take the reins.”
HPE also spun off its enterprise software and services business in September 2017, and it also announced that it would be selling its headquarters in Palo Alto, which it has held for the past six decades.
The announcement by Whitman comes as the company reported a mixed bag in the fourth quarter ended Oct. 31, with an EPS of 32 cents against an expectation of 28 cents, and revenues of $7.66 billion (+4.6% YoY) against an expected $7.78 billion.
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