After an eventful six years at the helm of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Meg Whitman is finally leaving her position as CEO.
Whitman’s successor is already lined up, with the company notifying the world in a statement that Antonio Neri, President of HPE, will be ascending to the Chief Executive rank.
While set to step down from the role as of the 1st of February 2018, the company has confirmed that Whitman will remain on the company’s board.
Meg Whitman, CEO, HPE, said: “I’m incredibly proud of all we’ve accomplished since I joined HP in 2011. Today, Hewlett Packard moves forward as four industry-leading companies that are each well positioned to win in their respective markets… Now is the right time for Antonio and a new generation of leaders to take the reins of HPE. I have tremendous confidence that they will continue to build a great company that will thrive well into the future.”
Although Whitman puts her resignation down to it being the right time to move on, it cannot be ignored that HPE has been in decline, caused in part by tumbling data storage equipment and server sales.
During her tenure, Whitman presided over the split that re-envisioned HP and HPE as two separate business entities, a bold move that was intended to capture a place in the cloud market without sacrificing legacy offerings.
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Previously, the HPE CEO gained a reputation when she held the same position at eBay when it went through a historic period of growth, and for a time it was thought possible that she may also become the CEO of Uber. Based on this legacy, the question is begged as to what Whitman might do next.
One would be justified in guessing she might turn to politics given her unsuccessful run for the position of governor of California in 2010, but the HPE CEO has silenced any speculation that she may be looking to assume the highest office of all.
As reported by Reuters, Meg Whitman said: “I stay active in politics by contributing to candidates from both sides of the aisle who I agree with on core issues, but aside from that, I have no plans to get involved directly.”
