Mark Hurd - Agenda Setters 2008

Name: Mark Hurd

Title: HP CEO

Position: 20    Last year: 20

Why? Revamping a Silicon Valley legend

Agree with panel rating?

• Justin Rattner
• back to list
• Jeffrey Katzenberg

Mark Hurd ranks in this year's Agenda Setters for resuscitating HP - and leading it onto bigger and better things.

Specifically, HP's $13.9bn acquisition of outsourcing giant EDS will see the combined company square up to IBM across hardware, software and services.

The Agenda Setters panel commended Hurd for the "landmark" deal and for doing an "outstanding job in turning around HP over the last three years in terms of refocusing the organisation".

Now Hurd faces the challenge of integrating the Silicon Valley stalwart with the services giant.

If he gets the execution right HP will be able to bid for the large, multi-year contracts - and for the more lucrative and complex IT transformation outsourcing deals - it previously didn't have the resources for.

Hurd is just the man you'd want at the helm for such a task, the panel agreed.