Mark Hurd, NCR Corp.’s president and chief executive since March 2003, resigned yesterday afternoon to join Palo Alto, Calif.-based Hewlett-Packard Development Co. as president and CEO.
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| Mark Hurd joined NCR in 1980. |
Hurd had been with NCR since 1980.
NCR Board of Directors member Jim M. Ringler has been named interim CEO, effective immediately. Ringler joined the NCR board in 2003, after retiring from Illinois Tool Works Inc., where he had been the company’s vice chairman. And, according to a news release, Ringler is already working full-time at NCR’s headquarters in Dayton.
"Clearly, given the contributions Mark has made to the company over his 25-year career with NCR, we’re all disappointed to see him go, but we respect his decision to take on a new challenge," Ringler said. "NCR is a strong company with great technologies. We have a detailed, multiyear plan in place and everyone is driving hard for continued success."
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| Jim Ringler, who joined NCR's Board of Directors in 2003, will serve as interim CEO. |
In fiscal year 2004, under Hurd’s leadership, the company generated $6 billion in revenue, an increase of 7 percent from FY ’03. The company’s net income increase from ’03 to’04 was $132 million. "From our perspective, Mark Hurd clearly did a lot for the company," NCR spokesperson Jeff Dafler said. "But our turnaround here at NCR has been a group effort, and we’re very comfortable with the leadership we have in place."
Dafler added that Hurd’s resignation came as a bit of a surprise. "The situation came up pretty fast, so in that context, it was unexpected for us," he said. "But that doesn’t mean we’re going to be letting up on our intensity at all."
Dafler said the board is in the process of appointing a search committee for Hurd’s replacement.
Hurd, 48, will officially step into his new role with HP April 1. He succeeds Robert Wayman, a 36-year HP veteran who had been serving as interim CEO since February, after Carly Fiorina resigned from the post. Wayman, who also has been HP’s chief financial officer since 1984, will continue as a member of the HP board.
