Merck, JDSU Should Follow Lead of H-P

Ray Gilmartin of Merck(MRK) and Kevin Kennedy of JDS Uniphase(JDSU), listen up, there's good news: You, too, can have your stocks jump 10%, just like Hewlett-Packard(HPQ).

But then there's the bad news: You have to leave to make it happen. Oh, and if you disagree with me, do you know anyone else who called an instant move to $22 if Carly were fired?

Carly Fiorina was a divisive force, one that could hurt any company. Gilmartin and Kennedy, of Merck and JDSU, both are convivial, go-along-get-along guys.

Unfortunately, their situations don't call for that kind of guy. They call for tough guys who can make something happen. For Merck, they need a seasoned, litigation-oriented and -understanding CEO. I would, if I were Merck, merge with Schering-Plough(SGP), which may be the best way to get that company's CEO, Fred Hassan.

JDS Uniphase? That's a case where someone came in who looked the part, walked the part and talked the part. But Kennedy, late of Cisco(CSCO), is proving to have the Cisco tarnish all over.

JDS Uniphase needs to rationalize its holdings and rationalize them fast. It has the cash on the balance sheet to take the charges and sell the businesses that make this company a fiber optic play. It hasn't done so because the medicine hasn't been taken. I no longer think that Kennedy can deliver the medicine.

Both of these companies would see their stocks rewarded instantly if their CEOs left. Boards, are you listening? Kennedy and Gilmartin, are you listening?

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