Fiorina promises a smooth transition

Carly Fiorina, CEO, HP, said this week that she is confident she will be able to prove the critics wrong and promised the merging of the HP and Compaq cultures and organizations will be smooth. "Our competitors are saying the only thing they can say: 'They're going to blow the integration, they'll be distracted.' I would not anticipate huge distraction. You ought to expect that very soon after the merger closes-a month-everyone will know who their account team is and what their migration path will be."

Fiorina made the pledge in a speech before 5,000 attendees at the Gartner Symposium information technology expo at Walt Disney World including many HP or Compaq customers.

For one, Fiorina said, officials of both companies were working out many details of the merger weeks before the merger announcement was made. "Although we surprised the market with this announcement, we did a great deal of work before ever calling in the bankers."

Fiorina said investors and customers should remain focused on some of the compelling advantages the new organization will have, including being the top supplier in many of the world's largest technology markets. HP's goal, she explained, will be a company that is "stronger and more balanced, a company that isn't getting 100 percent of its profits from imaging and printing. This isn't just a transaction. This isn't just a deal. It's about creating a smarter company to lead this area of information technology."

Asked how the new company will compete against PC industry-leader Dell Computer, Fiorina said the key is in product differentiation. "They are a compelling distributor. They are not a compelling innovator."

Once again, however, Fiorina was unable to convince Wall Street where HP shares fell 23 cents to $ 16.72, while Compaq shares fell four cents to close at $ 9.01.