Some people say that Meg Whitman doesn’t have the experience to run a $120 billion company such as Hewlett Packard. There are some who say that shoe’s more of a smooth talker than a down-and-dirty operator. Whitman contends that there are lots of critics out there and everyone has an opinion on everything.
Whitman was recently interviewed by Bloomberg. She was asked about her strategy for reviving Hewlett Packard and how she’s qualified for the position as CEO of the company. She also talked about other topics, including her opinion on Windows 8, smartphones, and other HP executives.
Hewlett Packard has several Windows 8 machines on the market at present, including hybrid units such as the EliteBook 2760p Tablet PC, which is a laptop with detachable screen that can be used as a tablet. These machines helped HP get back some share in the PC market but Whiteman declared that Windows 8 has not caused a large sales spike.
The company bought Palm to try and revive it but 18 months later, HP shut it down after lackluster sales. Whitman said that HP needs to have a smartphone in the near future. She added that the company has begun work on it.
If she needs to blame someone for HP not having a best-selling tablet or smartphone, it is Todd Bradley, who is the company’s longtime PC business chief. He failed to see the massive shift toward mobile computing. Whitman doesn’t seem to mind and even placed the printing division under his charge.
Whitman is happy about HP’s new Windows 8 tablet as well as the upcoming ARM chip-based server. She said that the company has found spots where it can innovate.
