HP taps Emma Walmsley as CEO to revive sluggish PC market | Latest Tech News
HP on Wednesday named former GSK chief and Microsoft board member Emma Walmsley as CEO to steer the PC maker through a memory-chip crunch that has pushed up costs and triggered a steep industry downturn.
She succeeds interim CEO Bruce Broussard on Jan. 4, with Broussard transitioning to board chair in place of Chip Bergh.
Walmsley, who led GSK from 2017 until December last 12 months, takes charge without prior tech {hardware} expertise as HP seems to revive a sluggish PC market and capitalize on demand for AI-enabled devices.
Emma Walmsley, who led GSK from 2017 until December last 12 months, takes charge without prior tech {hardware} expertise. Bloomberg via Getty Images
“Walmsley has no background in hardware, but she has experience steering a large company through a major restructuring, including the separation of Haleon from GSK, and that is closer to what HP needs,” said Vitor Madeira, senior market specialist at Capital.com.
Shares of the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company had been up more than 6%.
The key check, Madeira said, is whether or not she will be able to shield profitability through the downturn and discover growth past conventional PCs, such as AI devices, before reminiscence prices ease.
HP, like friends Dell Technologies, Apple and Lenovo, is caught in a global reminiscence chip squeeze, as large AI data heart buildouts take up a lot of the obtainable capability.
HP, like friends Dell Technologies, Apple and Lenovo, is caught in a global reminiscence chip squeeze, as large AI data heart buildouts take up a lot of the obtainable capability. Getty Images
The pressure confirmed in HP’s third-quarter outcomes in August, when PC shipments fell 16% even as the unit’s income rose 18% on a shift toward pricier, higher-margin merchandise including AI PCs.
The company said in an SEC submitting in September it’s not offering a financial outlook for fiscal 2027 and assumes industry-wide PC unit volumes will decline in the mid-single digits next 12 months.
Before GSK, Walmsley spent 17 years at L’Oréal and has sat on Microsoft’s board for seven years. FilmMagic
Before her tenure at GSK, Walmsley spent 17 years at L’Oréal and has sat on Microsoft’s board for seven years.
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