HP Grows Board, Adds 3 New Directors
NEW YORK (
) --
HP
(HPQ) - Get Report
has expanded its board of directors, bringing in former
Liberty Media
(LMCA)
CEO Robert 'Dob' Bennett, former Microsoft
(MSFT) - Get Report
Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie and former
McDonald's
(MCD) - Get Report
CEO James Skinner.
The move grows HP's board to 12 directors from nine at a time when the
is in the throes of a massive corporate overhaul. CEO Meg Whitman is 19 months into an ambitious five-year effort to revitalize HP.
The former
eBay
(EBAY) - Get Report
chief has described fiscal 2013 as "a fix and rebuild year," with "recovery and expansion," "acceleration," and "industry-leading competition" characterizing the years 2014 through 2016.
Despite facing a Herculean task, Whitman recently earned
for her
to turn around the tech giant, specifically her transformation of the company's
.
Last month HP also
the leadership of its key Printing and Personal Systems group (PPS).
"As we move forward with our turnaround, it's a huge benefit to be able to get advice from a board made up of such experienced business and technology leaders," said Whitman, in a statement released on Monday. "For their part, Dob, Ray and Jim have just about seen it all during their careers."
In addition to joining HP's board, Bennett will also become a member of the company's Finance and Investment Committee and Audit committees, while Ozzie will join the Technology Committee and the Finance and Investment Committee. Skinner will join the Audit, HR and Compensation, and Nominating and Governance committees, according to HP's statement.
HP said that it will continue to search for additional directors over the coming months, as well as a permanent non-executive chairman. While this search is under way, Ralph Whitworth will continue to serve as chairmanon an interim basis.
HP shares crept up 0.08% to $26.24 shortly after market open on Monday.
--Written by James Rogers in New York.