HPQ HP Inc

By Maria Armental 

Cathie Lesjak, a longtime presence at Hewlett Packard who helped the company steer through its complex 2015 breakup, plans to retire in early 2019.

Ms. Lesjak, chief financial officer at HP Inc., will become chief operating officer on a temporary basis while Steve Fieler becomes CFO on July 1, the company said Tuesday.

Ms. Lesjak, who joined Hewlett Packard in 1986, served as finance chief through two tumultuous administrations at the company and as interim CEO between the Mark Hurd and Leo Apotheker eras.

She is also credited for helping drive HP's performance and reinvention after the business split. Ms. Lesjak, 59 years old, joined the part of the business that focused on printers and personal computers as the CFO. Until her retirement, she will fill the operations chief role formerly held by Jon Flaxman, another longtime HP employee. Mr. Flaxman died in March.

Mr. Fieler, an 11-year veteran at HP who rejoined the company last year after a CFO stint at Proteus Digital Health, has "been in our succession planning for a long time," Chief Executive Dion Weisler said during a conference call with journalists Tuesday.

"It's really difficult to come into this company cold and be effective," Mr. Weisler, who joined HP in 2012 from Lenovo, said in reference to hiring an internal executive to succeed Ms. Lesjak.

Mr. Fieler is currently responsible for managing cash, debt, risk management and capital structure as well as financial planning and analysis, investor relations, credit and collections, and corporate development.

"Having worked with Steve over many years, I have great confidence in his ability to propel us forward and continue to drive profitable growth, " Mr. Weisler said in a statement.

--Jay Greene contributed to this article.

Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 29, 2018 17:08 ET (21:08 GMT)

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