HP Close to Appointing New CEO

Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) will probably have a new CEO in less than a week. The candidate will most likely come from inside the company, which would almost certainly allow the board of directors to speed through the process. A review of a number of outside candidates could take months, and the HP board may want to look decisive after several widely criticized decisions.

According to Bloomberg, the senior executives under consideration are Vyomesh Joshi, who runs HP's printer business; Todd Bradley, head of the personal computer division; Dave Donatelli, who runs the storage and server unit; Tom Hogan, executive vice president of enterprise sales and marketing; and Ann Livermore, executive vice president of the enterprise business.

Cathie Lesjak, the interim chief executive officer and chief financial officer, has already indicated that she does not want to be a candidate.

Joshi is an old hand at HP. He joined the company in 1980 and the Imaging and Printing Group he heads has annual revenue of nearly $29 million. Bradley's Personal Systems Group has an annual revenue run rate of $42 billion. He may have the most outside experience. He was CEO of Palm and has been an executive at GE Capital, Dun & Bradstreet and FedEx (FDX), according to HP.

Donatelli was a senior executive at huge storage company EMC (EMC). Hogan's division produces revenue of $54 billion. Livermore has been with the company since 1982.