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An Analyst's Ad Hominem Hell April 02, 2012 I clearly hit a nerve last week when I compared Meg Whitman's moves at HP to Tim Cook's at Apple. I do sincerely think Tim Cook was set up to fail. Steve Jobs didn't hire Cook to replace him -- he hired him to do the jobs he didn't want to do. This is why a lot of great companies slide. The existing CEOs see replacement candidates as rivals, so they make sure they don't have the skills or otherwise can't do the CEO's job.

Cook Does China His Way March 30, 2012 Tim Cook this week made his first visit to China since he took the tiller as CEO of Apple last August. Cook's trip to the Asian nation mixed business with politics. He visited a Foxconn factory that makes iPhones and an Apple Store in Beijing. He conducted skull sessions with the city's mayor, Guo Kinlong, and the country's Vice Premier Li Keqiang, who is expected to succeed Wen Jiabao as premier of the nation.

Meg Whitman vs. Tim Cook by the Numbers March 26, 2012 Last week was an interesting week. Apple announced what appears to be a penis iron in the new iPad, and folks are burning through their monthly 4G data plans in a few hours. Tim's having his first Antennagate moment, and Steve Jobs he isn't. On the other hand, Meg Whitman announced her first major restructuring since taking over HP. Whitman appears to have Carly Fiorina's vision and can execute, which bodes well.

OpenSUSE, Linus' Daughter, and a Question of Security March 08, 2012 There's nothing like a rant to get the conversational ball rolling here in the Linux blogosphere, and if it can be a rant from Linus Torvalds himself, well, it doesn't get much better than that. That, in fact, is just what last week afforded in the form of a Google+ post from the father of Linux on the topic of openSUSE security. "I don't think I can talk about 'security' people without cursing, so you might want to avert your eyes now," Torvalds began.

Jerry Yang and Yahoo's Humble Beginnings February 04, 2012 Jerry Yang is no longer "Chief Yahoo." He left Yahoo after 17 years. That's the news most people read or hear. Most people don't know Jerry or his approach. Let me share a personal story. In 1995, I first met Jerry at Yahoo. this was before the company was public and before anyone really cared much at all about "the Internet."

Zuckerberg to Keep Iron Grip on Facebook's Reins February 02, 2012 Facebook has finally filed for its IPO. The social networking giant submitted an application to the SEC on Wednesday. It plans to raise up to $5 billion. CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who cofounded the company in February 2004, currently holds a 28.4 percent stake. Details in the SEC document illuminated the extent of Zuckerberg's control over Facebook.

Sony Installs New Chief in Quest for Identity February 01, 2012 Sony announced on Wednesday that Kazui Hirai is being appointed as its president and CEO, effective April 1. Current Chairman, CEO and President Howard Stringer will become the chairman of the board of directors in June. Sony has had a turbulent year, so a switch in leadership might help the company find a smoother road.

Assange to Test His Charm on Russian TV January 25, 2012 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has plans to host a new TV show called "The World Tomorrow." The half-hour weekly episodes are scheduled to begin airing in mid-March on Russia's English-language RT channel. It will reach some 60 million global viewers. Assange sees the series as a vehicle to discuss the issues of the day with the people who are shaping the future.

What If Cook Really Isn't a Product Guy? January 19, 2012 At first, I was surprised to see the flurry of blog and comment traffic recently over Scott Forstall, the Apple "CEO-in-waiting," as portrayed by a new book about Apple coming out next week. I thought, What's wrong with current CEO Tim Cook? Is he going somewhere? Didn't he just get a bunch of new compensation packages worth hundreds of millions of dollars?

Yahoo Bloodletting Runs Deep as Cofounder Yang Exits January 18, 2012 Yahoo cofounder and former CEO Jerry Yang has left the company in the wake of pressure from shareholders and the appointment of a new CEO earlier this month. Yang announced his departure from all positions at Yahoo on Tuesday. Following the announcement, speculation grew that a general housecleaning at the top is pending.

The Shrewd Madness of Crisis Leadership January 17, 2012 There is an interesting discussion brewing about the nature of Silicon Valley companies. Are they "tech" companies, as Zuora CEO Tien Tzuo asserts, or are they "... companies in other industries that happen to make heavy use of technology," as CBS Money Watch blogger Erik Sherman says? The gentlemanly disagreement started over the appointment of PayPal President Scott Thompson as the next CEO of Yahoo.

Kundra Casts His Lot With Salesforce.com January 17, 2012 Salesforce.com has snagged a marquee name for its executive ranks: the former chief information officer of the United States, Vivek Kundra. Kundra, who left his post with the Obama administration last year, is joining Salesforce.com as executive vice president of emerging markets.

Ballmer Phones In Final CES Keynote January 10, 2012 Microsoft's Steve Ballmer delivered his final Consumer Electronics Show keynote in Las Vegas on Tuesday. Ballmer talked up Windows 8 and discussed additions to the Xbox platform and new Windows-based Nokia devices. The presentation, which featured "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest, kicked off the annual show.

How to Orchestrate a Successful CEO Succession January 03, 2012 Say this about 2011 -- along with any number of natural and unnatural disasters, the year featured more than its fair share of technology industry melodrama from the highly public wrangling between Oracle and HP to the passing of singular characters, including Apple's Steve Jobs. Both of these events also highlighted the importance of a topic mainly of interest to financial analysts and institutional investors: executive succession.

Apple's Post-Jobs Power Structure Takes Shape With Levinson as Chair November 16, 2011 Arthur Levinson, current chairman of pharmaceuticals company Genetech Industries, was appointed the non-executive chairman of Apple's board Tuesday. Levinson has been an Apple board member since 2000. It's the first change in the company's boardroom since the death of Steve Jobs in October. Levinson will take over Jobs' spot as chairman, a role Jobs created when he stepped down as CEO in August.

The Enthralling 'Steve Jobs' - Brilliance, Weirdness, Warts and All November 01, 2011 If you are on the fence about whether to buy and read Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, I have an answer for you: Do it. However, I should warn you, the book isn't for the faint of heart. It's 656 pages in the hardcover edition, which translates to a couple thousand on your iPhone if you buy it as an e-book.

What Open Source Can Learn From Steve Jobs, Part 2 November 01, 2011 The blind hatred of Free Software Foundation President Richard Stallman toward proprietary programs is such that he has given speeches in which he advocated for software piracy. Stallman wrote this the day after Steve Jobs died: "As Chicago Mayor Harold Washington said of the corrupt former Mayor Daley, 'I'm not glad he's dead, but I'm glad he's gone.'"

Rometty Slides Smoothly Into IBM's Driver Seat October 26, 2011 IBM named Virginia Rometty as the company's first-ever female CEO Tuesday as Sam Palmisano stepped down from his nearly decade-long tenure. Since Palmisano took over in 2002, the CEO oversaw a transition that included selling its PC business, buying PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting and making more than $25 billion worth of software acquisitions to keep IBM an industry giant. Palmisano will remain chairman.

What Open Source Can Learn From Steve Jobs, Part 1 October 25, 2011 The passing of Steve Jobs earlier this month triggered reactions that spanned the gamut -- from expressions of appreciation and sober reflection to some tasteless extremes of zealotry from a subset of the open source community. We can learn a lot from Steve Jobs, even if we ultimately have different goals.

Gates, Palmisano or Branson for President October 24, 2011 With the U.S. elections ramping up and IBM's 100-year anniversary event in New York focusing like a laser on what makes a good leader, I'm finding it hard not to compare both the incumbent and Republican challengers to the top leaders in technology and find them wanting. I'm starting to wonder if the problem that the U.S. and most democratic countries have is lack of a clear definition of what is needed in a leader.