In a prime example of a “didn’t see that coming” move, HP President and CEO Enrique Lores stepped down, swapping printers for payments in the process. After a six-year stint as the OEM’s top executive, Lores will take the CEO helm at transactional behemoth PayPal. He replaces Alex Chriss, per the company’s Q4 earnings report.
Bruce Broussard, an HP board member since 2021, assumes the role of interim CEO. The company has formed a search committee to identify Lores’ permanent replacement and engaged a leading global executive firm to help spearhead the initiative.
Lores joined HP as an intern in 1989. His relatively brief tenure in the corner office was marked by an aggressive takeover attempt by Xerox in 2019. A public tug-of-war drama, led by the late John Visentin of Xerox, played out in the press and in back-and-forth letters between the two leaders. Lores held his ground, and Visentin suspended the quest shortly after COVID-19 hit the U.S.
During his time at HP, Lores grew the company, adding services, subscriptions and future-of-work solutions to its base offering of PCs and printers. He also played a pivotal role in the separation of HP and HPE, which helped simplify the cost structure and strengthen its operating discipline.
“It has been an honor to lead HP through its evolution into an AI-driven technology company that is redefining workplace solutions and connecting with customers globally,” Lores said in an HP release. “Over the last several years, our resilient team has successfully navigated the evolution of our world. We extended our leadership in print and PCs, diversified our business with the addition of HP Solutions, and invested in our people. With strong teams around the world and a clear strategy for long-term growth, HP is well-positioned for the future, and I will continue to champion the team’s success.”
Lores is quite familiar with PayPal, having joined its board of directors nearly five years ago and becoming board chair in 2024. The board believes Lores, who boasts more than three decades of technology, commercial and executive experience, will help guide PayPal into its next chapter of growth.
“We will further strengthen the culture of innovation necessary to deliver long-term transformation and balance this with near-term delivery, executing with greater speed and precision, and holding ourselves accountable for consistent delivery quarter on quarter, to further assert PayPal’s industry leadership position,” Lores said in the PayPal announcement.
“The payments industry is changing faster than ever, driven by new technologies, evolving regulations, an increasingly competitive landscape, and the rapid acceleration of AI that is reshaping commerce daily. PayPal sits at the center of this change, and I look forward to leading the team to accelerate the delivery of new innovations and to shape the future of digital payments and commerce.”
HP interim CEO Broussard is a seasoned executive with more than 30 years of leadership experience at public companies. He most recently served as president and CEO of Humana Inc., a leading health care company, for more than a decade.
