HP’s leadership vacancy will end on January 4, when Emma Walmsley takes charge of the computing and printing company.
The appointment follows Enrique Lores’s departure in early February 2026 to become chief executive of PayPal. HP’s board, chaired by Chip Bergh, spent nine months searching for his replacement.
Bruce Broussard, an HP board member, served as interim chief executive during the search.
Walmsley arrives from outside the technology industry. She led pharmaceutical company GSK for nearly nine years and previously held executive roles at L’Oréal for 17 years. She has also spent the past seven years on Microsoft’s board, though she has no track record running a tech company.
“HP is an iconic company with a defining role in shaping the future of work on a global scale. I'm excited to join the team and, together, move forward with clarity and conviction. We will focus on harnessing the power of the AI era and putting HP's creativity and innovation to work to unlock new sources of growth and deliver lasting value for our customers, shareholders, partners and people,” Walmsley said.
Bergh said Walmsley had stood out during the process because of “the strength of her leadership experience across multiple industries, the clarity of her strategic thinking and her ability to translate customer insights into new growth.”
Her first task comes with HP’s two main businesses heading in different directions. Revenue rose 10 percent year-on-year to $44.5 billion in the first nine months of fiscal 2026, with PCs providing the growth while the print business shrank.
The wider PC market has become tougher. Global PC shipments slumped 20 percent in Q3 as DRAM shortages raised prices, leading customers to sweat their assets rather than replace computers.
HP’s choice also fits a wider preference among large US companies for leaders who have already held the top job. Nearly 30% of incoming S&P 500 CEOs over the past year had previously been a chief executive, double the historical average.
Constantine Alexandrakis, who runs the CEO search firm Russell Reynolds, said someone who is “been-there-done-that” gives boards a sense of security, regardless of the industry.
Comments (0)