Léo Apotheker

Léo Apotheker
Léo Apotheker
Born	18 9, 1953
Birthplace	Aachen, West Germany
Nationality	German
Occupation	Business executive, corporate board member
Known for	CEO of Hewlett-Packard (2010–2011), Co-CEO of SAP AG (2008–2010)
Education	Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Léo Apotheker (born 18 September 1953) is a German business executive who served as chief executive officer and president of Hewlett-Packard (HP) from November 2010 until his dismissal in September 2011, and as co-chief executive officer of SAP AG from April 2008 until February 2010. Born in Aachen, West Germany, Apotheker built much of his career at SAP, where he spent more than two decades rising through the ranks before reaching the top leadership position. His tenure at HP proved brief and turbulent; the company lost more than $30 billion in market capitalization during his approximately eleven months as CEO, driven in part by a series of strategic decisions that unsettled investors and analysts alike — most notably the $11 billion acquisition of British software company Autonomy, the proposed divestiture of HP's personal computer division, and the discontinuation of the webOS product line. Fluent in five languages — German, Dutch, French, English, and Hebrew — Apotheker has since the end of his HP tenure served on the boards of several international companies and organizations, including Schneider Electric, KMD, Steria, and the non-profit PlaNet Finance.

Early Life

Léo Apotheker was born on 18 September 1953 in Aachen, a city in the western part of what was then West Germany, near the borders with Belgium and the Netherlands. He grew up in a multilingual environment, which contributed to his eventual fluency in five languages: German, Dutch, French, English, and Hebrew. Apotheker's background in multiple European languages and cultures would later prove relevant to his career in international enterprise software and technology companies, where he operated across numerous national markets.

Details regarding Apotheker's parents and family background during his youth in Aachen remain limited in publicly available sources. His connection to Israel and the Hebrew language, however, is reflected in his decision to pursue higher education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, suggesting personal or familial ties to the country.

Education

Apotheker attended the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he completed his studies. The Hebrew University, founded in 1918 and located on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem, is one of Israel's foremost research universities. Specific details regarding Apotheker's field of study and the degree he obtained have not been widely documented in available sources. His multilingual abilities and international education positioned him for a career in global enterprise technology.

Career

SAP AG (1988–2010)

Apotheker joined SAP AG, the German enterprise software company headquartered in Walldorf, in 1988. Over the course of more than twenty years at the company, he rose through various leadership positions, playing what has been described as an instrumental role in developing and implementing significant changes within the organization.

During his time at SAP, Apotheker held a range of executive positions that gave him broad experience across the company's global operations. He was involved in SAP's efforts to expand its customer base, develop new product strategies, and compete with rivals in the enterprise resource planning (ERP) software market. His career at SAP spanned a period during which the company grew from a mid-sized European software firm into one of the world's largest technology companies.

In April 2008, Apotheker was appointed co-chief executive officer of SAP AG, sharing the role in a dual leadership structure that was characteristic of SAP's corporate governance at the time. As co-CEO, Apotheker was responsible for steering the company's strategic direction during a period of both growth and challenge in the global enterprise software industry.

However, Apotheker's tenure as co-CEO was marked by internal tensions. SAP co-founder Hasso Plattner, who served as chairman of the supervisory board, later spoke publicly about difficulties during this period. In an interview with Der Spiegel, Plattner expressed surprise and concern about certain developments at the company, describing some events as a "shock."

In February 2010, Apotheker resigned from SAP following a decision by the company's supervisory board not to renew his contract. His departure from SAP, after more than two decades with the company, marked the end of a long chapter in his career and set the stage for his next — and most publicly scrutinized — leadership role.

Appointment as HP CEO (2010)

On 30 September 2010, the Board of Directors of Hewlett-Packard announced the election of Léo Apotheker as the company's chief executive officer and president, effective 1 November 2010. Simultaneously, the board appointed Ray Lane, a partner at Kleiner Perkins, as non-executive chairman. Apotheker succeeded Cathie Lesjak, who had been serving as interim CEO following the abrupt departure of Mark Hurd in August 2010.

The appointment was seen as a signal that HP's board intended to shift the company's strategic focus toward enterprise software, given Apotheker's deep background at SAP. The Economist noted that the selection of a former SAP executive represented an effort to bolster HP's software capabilities and move the company beyond its traditional hardware-centric identity.

At the time of his appointment, HP was the world's largest technology company by revenue, with annual sales exceeding $100 billion. The company's product portfolio spanned personal computers, printers, servers, networking equipment, and IT services. Apotheker was tasked with charting a new strategic course for the company at a time when the technology industry was undergoing rapid transformation, with the rise of cloud computing, mobile devices, and software-as-a-service models challenging traditional hardware manufacturers.

Apotheker's employment contract with HP included provisions for a substantial compensation package. According to reporting by The Wall Street Journal, the contract specified significant severance terms in the event of his departure, details that would later attract public attention when his tenure came to an abrupt end.

Tenure and Strategic Decisions at HP (2010–2011)

Apotheker's tenure as HP's CEO lasted approximately eleven months and was defined by a series of bold but controversial strategic decisions that fundamentally unsettled the company's investors, partners, and employees.

Acquisition of Autonomy

The most significant and consequential decision of Apotheker's time at HP was the acquisition of Autonomy Corporation, a British enterprise software company, for approximately $11 billion in August 2011. The deal was intended to accelerate HP's transformation into a software and services company, reducing its dependence on lower-margin hardware businesses. However, the acquisition price was widely seen by analysts and investors as excessive, representing a substantial premium over Autonomy's market value.

The Autonomy acquisition would become one of the most controversial deals in corporate history. In November 2012, approximately a year after the deal closed, HP took an $8.8 billion write-down on the value of Autonomy, alleging that the British company had engaged in accounting fraud that artificially inflated its financial metrics prior to the acquisition.

During the subsequent legal proceedings, Apotheker himself testified about his role in the acquisition process. In court testimony in April 2019, Apotheker stated that he had not read Autonomy's latest financial accounts before HP proceeded with the acquisition. He further claimed that if Autonomy's accounts had been accurate, "I doubt that HP would have pursued" the deal, suggesting that HP's decision to acquire the company had been based on financial representations that later proved to be materially misleading. This admission attracted significant media attention and raised questions about the due diligence process that preceded the acquisition.

Proposed PC Division Spin-Off and WebOS Discontinuation

In addition to the Autonomy acquisition, Apotheker announced in August 2011 that HP was exploring a potential spin-off or divestiture of its Personal Systems Group (PSG), which manufactured and sold personal computers. At the time, HP was the world's largest PC maker, and the PSG division accounted for roughly $41 billion in annual revenue. The announcement was made alongside the decision to discontinue webOS-based hardware products, including the HP TouchPad tablet, which had been on the market for only 49 days.

These announcements, made simultaneously with the Autonomy deal, created significant turmoil. The proposed PC spin-off was particularly alarming to investors because it suggested HP was willing to shed its largest business unit by revenue without a clear alternative strategy. The combination of these moves — paying a premium for a software company, potentially divesting the PC business, and killing off a recently launched product line — was perceived as indicative of a lack of coherent strategic vision.

Market Impact and Share Price Decline

The cumulative effect of Apotheker's strategic decisions on HP's stock price was severe. During his approximately eleven months as CEO, HP's share price declined by close to 50%, and the company lost more than $30 billion in market capitalization. This destruction of shareholder value occurred against a backdrop of broader challenges in the technology sector, but the magnitude of HP's decline was attributed primarily to the uncertainty and disruption caused by Apotheker's leadership decisions.

As the Harvard Business Review noted at the time of his departure, the criticisms of Apotheker as HP's CEO were "easy to list," though it also raised the question of whether his boldness in attempting to reshape the company — rather than the direction itself — was ultimately what led to his firing.

Dismissal from HP and Severance

On 22 September 2011, HP's board of directors dismissed Apotheker as CEO and president. He was replaced by Meg Whitman, the former CEO of eBay, who was named his successor on the same day.

Apotheker's severance package attracted considerable public scrutiny. According to The Wall Street Journal and other outlets, the terms of his departure included a substantial payout. Reporting by The Australian indicated that Apotheker received approximately $13 million in severance, while his successor Meg Whitman accepted an annual salary of just $1 as part of an effort to signal a fresh start for the company.

Post-HP Career and Board Service

Following his departure from HP, Apotheker transitioned to a career focused on corporate board service and advisory roles. In March 2012, reports emerged that Apotheker was positioning himself for a professional comeback through board-level engagements.

Apotheker joined the supervisory board of Steria, a European IT services company, alongside Laetitia Puyfaucher. Steria described the appointments as strengthening its board's expertise.

He also served on the board of directors of GT Nexus, a cloud-based supply chain management platform, where his enterprise software background was relevant to the company's operations.

In addition, Apotheker took board positions at KMD, a Danish IT company; Schneider Electric, the French multinational energy management and automation corporation; and PlaNet Finance, a non-profit organization focused on microfinance and financial inclusion.

Apotheker joined the board of Signavio, a business process management software company, further extending his involvement in the enterprise technology sector.

In January 2021, Apotheker was appointed as the first independent board member of Appway, a technology company specializing in workflow automation for financial services. Appway, backed by Summit Partners, described his appointment as bringing "decades of leadership experience in enterprise software" to the company's governance.

Personal Life

Léo Apotheker was born in Aachen, West Germany, and has connections to both Europe and Israel, having attended the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is fluent in five languages: German, Dutch, French, English, and Hebrew, a linguistic range that has been noted as reflective of his European upbringing and international career.

Little additional information about Apotheker's personal life, family, or private activities has been documented in publicly available sources. His public profile has been defined primarily by his professional roles and the controversies associated with his tenure at HP.

Legacy

Léo Apotheker's career is most frequently discussed in the context of corporate leadership, executive accountability, and the challenges of transforming large technology companies. His tenure at HP, though brief, has become a case study in business strategy and corporate governance.

The New York Times, in a 2015 analysis, assessed Apotheker's record at HP and argued that he may have been a less effective CEO than Carly Fiorina, who was herself widely criticized during and after her tenure leading the company. The article highlighted the Autonomy acquisition, the proposed PC division divestiture, and the discontinuation of webOS as a combination of decisions that inflicted lasting damage on the company.

The Harvard Business Review offered a more nuanced perspective at the time of Apotheker's dismissal, questioning whether the fundamental problem was the boldness of his strategic vision or the execution and communication of that vision. The publication noted that some of the strategic directions Apotheker identified — particularly the shift toward software and cloud services — were ones that HP and the broader technology industry would ultimately pursue in subsequent years, albeit through different approaches.

The Autonomy acquisition, the centerpiece of Apotheker's HP legacy, remained in litigation for years after his departure. The legal proceedings, in which Apotheker testified in 2019, raised fundamental questions about corporate due diligence, the responsibilities of CEOs in major acquisitions, and the reliability of financial reporting in cross-border deals.

At SAP, Apotheker's legacy is less publicly debated. His more than two decades at the company encompassed a period of substantial growth and transformation for the enterprise software industry, and his contributions during the years before his elevation to co-CEO are generally viewed separately from the controversies that marked the end of his SAP career and his subsequent tenure at HP.

In the years following his departure from HP, Apotheker's move into board-level advisory roles across multiple companies and sectors — from IT services to energy management to non-profit microfinance — demonstrated a continued engagement with the technology and business worlds, albeit in a less publicly visible capacity than his prior CEO roles.