Rumor: more Palm execs to leave after HP deal closes 40
by Dieter Bohn Thu, 10 Jun 2010 4:39 pm EDT
MG Siegler at TechCrunch is reporting that their sources say that after the HP buyout goes through, we can expect "a number of Palm's Senior Vie Presidents appear to be out [the] door, some of their own accord and some not." Siegler intimates that we could be looking at a substantial number leaving as "HP didn't buy Palm for the management team."
It's no surprise to see some churn in management after a large merger/buyout like this, but after several high-profile exoduses from the company, it will be worth keeping an eye on whether or not thus rumor pans out. Both HP and Palm are on the record as saying that Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein will stay on with the company post-merger in some capacity.
Source: TechCrunch
40 Comments
good they need new mgt anyways to sell the product
This is kind of what I was thinking. I don't want to bite the hands that feed me, but they did kind of fail to spread the word on webOS awesomeness in a way that's totally unforgivable.
Well, ok I forgive them. I can't be mad at ya, Palm.
They wont need a CFO or other top accountants, that will be HP's job. They can pretty much s-can the entire marketing team and nobody will miss them. Rubi becomes irrelevant except as a figurehead, and frankly, he's a little stiff and out of touch for that (never used an Iphone, bitchslapping Verizon). So, common for acquisitions, HP will swap in some favored tallent and shelf the rest of Palm management that cant read the tea leaves. Will be interesting to see who they install as Technology Director.
Cue comments about how unimportant these people are in 3...2...
Cue the comments about how its the death of PALM and the world in general.
To tell you the truth... when I looked at Palm's management team a few months ago... almost all of them had some kinda "marketing" something or another in their job title.
Palm Mgmt. is (correction: was) exactly the problem.
I'm liking the HP deal more and more every day. I really am.
complety expected... Did antone else think otherwise. Less chiefs... More indians!
I don't know why people freak out about execs leaving. This is completely normal in the business world. They will retain or try to, the talent they need or want and the rest is gone.
WebOs is already created, I'm sure out of the thounsands of HP employees, they will have a 'few' that can work and improve on it. Besides, Palm does need as clean as a 'slate' as they can at this point imho.
Not shocked. The question is, how many people within WebOS will be leaving. I take it people in marketing (whoever allowed the first few ads to come out) will be gone. Maybe carrier relations people will stay.
with the ui guy going to android, and the notifications guy going to apple, I might like a future version of ios or android. Hopefully I will if hp is going to make webos suck &/or all the people behind it are going somewhere else. We'll see in a year...
Cue comments on how they probably have already finished making the C40 so it doesn't matter.
Oh, and for everyone who worries about palm talent landing somewhere else. They can take their experience but they can not take or duplicate their creations while @ palm.
cue the people saying they are running out the door to get a new Evo....
I can't even visit Precentral.net without seeing bad news as the featured article. Tragic.
Man I love my EVO! I can't believe Matias is gonna bring the magic of WebOS to android.
I think WebOS is going to die. Well not seize to exist... rather just be devalued.
HP with their reputation for producing mediocre quality products and their intention of putting WebOS on more than tablets and phones, is a clear sign of how they will bring down the OS into a mediocre state of being.
Do you people think everyone that left really want to stay with HP because HP is great company to work for?
These are intelligent and creative individuals who saw the potential leave. So they're bringing their creative knowledge someplace else where more appreciative.
cease to exist
Thanks!
As much as non of us like the thought of this, Palm's management team has not be able to manage the company into being a success. Fresh blood maybe required. Decisions on where to nickle and dime on savings did not help the Pre's build quality either.
people ought to be happy. Their leadership has not produced success. Time for new ideas.
I'm tellin you guys in july or aug they'll be a leak and as late as oct the phone will be out
Many Sprint Pre owners are reaching their anniversary and growing increasingly impatient. August may be too late. October definitely is.
Hi,
1. I doubt that is uncommon after a buyout.
2. Remember Palms technology is flawless, it screwed up on manufacturing and marketing. I expect the people in those areas, to be shown the door or see the handwriting ion the wall and leave by their choice!
Take care, Jay
PS I also think a new smart phone will be out from Palm by the fall!
Can all of the marketing people and also send the customer relations (including the refurbishing dept.) packing.
In my humble opinion, Palm's CEO failed - miserably. He might be executive management quality, but certainly is not CEO caliber of an underdog phone company. He needs to go, too.
yippee
btw, what exactly is it, a merger or a buyout? Cuz to me, there's a difference..
seems to me that if they merge they become one company but work as separate entities, like a corporation. But if hp buys palm, then palm becomes hp...and that's what scares me. Figuratively speaking, of course...lol
Keep the Quality Control people.
Keep the Guys in charge of Advertising.
Keep the Guys who decided not to replace defective Sprint Pre/Pixies with the Plus versions...
Oh wait, did I say "Keep"?
Duh, these are the people responsible for running Palm into the ground except for a last second save by Ruby and HP. If I were buying Palm, or any other troubled company, I would immediately clean house after the buyout as well. Doesn't matter how important they may or may not have been, if they made decisions that caused Palm to lose money, they're out. Quite frankly I'll be surprised if Ruby himself is around in a year or two. He did many things well, but he would have to have a very good excuse for producing so many units leading up to the Verizon launch; something like, "I didn't want to produce so many units, really, I promise. It was those evil VZW execs, they made me; they promised they could sell them all in a week!"
Good riddance get the bad bugs out now....anyone who ruined the chances of this OS from succeeding needs to go. Take marketing while you're at. I was really upset at the architects going, but the people who wouldn't let it grow and held it up from expanding need to go.
Oh My God, what's up with that car?? What kind of audience is Palm trying to target? Lollipop Kids?
The Pre is black, smooth, and sexy (and she'll open up for you if you use your thumb just right!).
How about a car that shares that same description? Something black, rounded, with a convertible top?
Every day I read more bad news about Palm. What a disaster of a company. The story of Palm will be taught in business management schools for decades. I'm going to hold on until my Pre but every day I cry a little tear for what could have been.
Palm shoulda done this already. Kick out one or two execs and hire a few teams of programmers with the money save to access the damn GPU, create a microphone API and make the PIMs work better.
Ah well.
Double Post....
hp managers are some cold mf.ckers... The climate working at hp is not pleasant they have this superior mgmt tradition... They expect you to marry the company and every second you can lose your job... Hp aint gonna bring it... Three more months till I can extend my contract and say hello EVO lets do evel
If you think that isn't the attitude at every corporation, then you don't know the first thing about big business. Just look at Apple, Google, Microsoft...
HP doesn't need Palm's CFO, CIO, etc and those folks aren't going to take demotions.
Not a big shocker lol we will see what comes out next and when...
its a buyout. Plain and simple. If anyone thinks Palm will operate as some kind of separate entity, they don't know HP. I have worked at HP and will be surprised if webos remains on any smartphone that HP can deliver. They want the IP and webos to dumb down an put on other devices. Think Blade servers...
actually the attitude is not like this at all corps...
besides you didn't even get my joke
I folded.... Ordered my HTC EVO on Sunday. I hope Google scoops up some more of the WebOS developers so that they can help work on Android. I think that Android will be as close to WebOS as we can get, they already have the cloud strategy pretty well understood. I really do think that Android is the closest we will get to WebOS and it is certainly gaining on the iPhone. I think I did the right thing. P.S. There is a post on AndroidCentral showing how one user successfully modded his EVO to use the Palm Touchstone. This is good news for everyone who has contemplated jumpinging into the HTC lifeboats.
EVO uses Touchstone:
http://gadgetsteria.com/2010/06/14/charge-your-evo-4g-with-the-palm-touc...