HP Ex-CEO Apotheker Heads Into Sunset With a Few Bucks

So this isn’t exactly a storage story, although technically it is because Hewlett-Packard sells StorageWorks arrays and other storage-related IT. But here at The Station we’re filing this little item anyway.

The topic is now ex-CEO Leo Apotheker. (To be truthful, we’re thankful we won’t have to spell A-p-o-t-h-e-k-e-r as often anymore; it’s not intuitive in any way. We often had to go back and correct our spelling. Of course, he probably doesn’t care for spelling my surname, either, although he would never have occasion to do so.)

The rest of the topic is his golden/platinum parachute. Everybody seems to have a different report about how big and fluffy that parachute is. Thus far, we’ve read as high as $25.2 million (CNN Money) to $13 million (Associated Press, San Jose Mercury News) to $10 million (Reuters).

Best one to believe: The AP, which used as its source a Securities and Exchange Commission regulatory filing, a standard move for public companies.

Apotheker, whose base salary was $1.2 million, will leave HP with $7.2 million in a cash severance payment, $2.4 million under a company bonus program known as “Pay for Results” (what results?) and accelerated vesting of stock options worth $3.6 million, according to a filing that HP made with the SEC. He owns thousands of shares of HP stock, too.

Oh yes. Apotheker also received a $4 million signing bonus and an additional $4.6 million for relocation expenses and other payments a year ago when he signed on.

Bottom line: Mr. Apotheker, who bought a $7 million Bay Area home last February, will be able to pay it off a bit sooner than perhaps he had planned. And we wish him good luck going forward.