3 IT CEOs who were ‘ousted’

NEW YORK: Ron Johnson's short-lived tenure as J C Penney's CEO will go down as one of the biggest flameouts in corporate America. The former Apple executive was hailed as a big thinker when he was hired by the ailing department store chain but his radical moves ended up alienating shoppers, sent sales plunging and left the company in an even worse situation.

He lasted 17 months. But Johnson isn't the only executive to be pushed out after failing to live up to big expectations. Here's a look at some major ousters in recent times from the IT industry.

Carol Bartz, Yahoo
The internet company hired technology veteran Bartz in 2009, with the goal of bringing in a no-nonsense leader who would develop a clear vision. Bartz shook up Yahoo's management and instituted a cost-cutting program that helped boost the company's earnings. But revenue failed to grow even as the online ad market expanded at a rapid clip.

Bartz, known for her very direct approach and sometimes-colorful language, stressed that a turnaround would take time and pleaded for patience from shareholders, pointing out that it took Steve Jobs years to revive Apple after his return in 1997.

But after more than 2 years of financial lethargy, Yahoo ousted Bartz in 2011. The company's chairman fired her over the phone, according to an email Bartz sent from her iPad that was obtained by the All Things D technology blog at the time.

Leo Apotheker, Hewlett Packard
When HP hired Apotheker in November 2010, it was seen as an aggressive push by the company into the software business. But many analysts mocked the choice, considering that Apotheker had just been forced out of his previous job as CEO of German business software maker SAP AG following ill-timed price hikes and widespread employee dissatisfaction.

Apotheker was supposed to be a steady hand to steer HP out of a tumultuous time but his strategic decisions were drastic and did little to inspire confidence. He was doomed by disappointing earnings and a fumbled announcement that the company's personal computer division was for sale. Even as he struggled, Apotheker complained that HP suffered from years of under-investment by his predecessor, Mark Hurd.

Apotheker also was one of the chief backers of HP's acquisition of British software company Autonomy Corp. HP paid $10 billion for Autonomy, but later said it was deceived by improper accounting and overpaid.

After just 11 months, Apotheker was forced out and replaced by former eBay CEO Meg Whitman.

Kevin Rollins, Dell
Rollins joined Dell in 1996 and held a variety of roles before becoming CEO in 2004, including chief operating officer, vice chairman and president of Dell Americas.

The company had been struggling with a market glut of low-cost, low-profit PCs and weaker-than-anticipated sales of its pricier, more lucrative desktops and notebooks. In 2006, it lost its No. 1 position in the industry to rival Hewlett-Packard Co.

In addition to disappointing earnings, Dell had recalled more than 4 million potentially flammable notebook batteries made by Sony in August 2006. The company's accounting practices had come under federal scrutiny as well.

The key parallel between Rollins and Penney's Johnson may have been overpromising. Rollins took the reins of a company doing a little more than $40 billion a year in business and painted pictures of bumping that to $80 billion -- which Dell has still not approached.

Rollins stepped down in early 2007. Founder Michael Dell took the CEO job back.

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