HP Taps New Finance Chief As Cathie Lesjak Moves To Interim COO Role

HP Inc. has promoted an 11-year veteran of the company to serve as its new chief financial officer, while current CFO Cathie Lesjak will become chief operating officer on an interim basis before a planned retirement in 2019.

HP's new CFO is Steve Fieler, whose experience with HP "makes him really equipped with a deep understanding of our business," HP CEO Dion Weisler said Tuesday during a conference call with reporters.

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Fieler currently heads up HP's treasury and corporate finance functions, and his tenure has included serving at one point as CFO for HP Software. He left the company in 2014 but returned in January 2017, HP said.

Fieler is a "highly respected executive, both internally and externally, and a very accomplished leader," Weisler said. He added that Fieler has been "in our succession planning for a very long time."

In terms of the hire, "I don't think we could've found a better person to step into this role," Lesjak said. "He knows and loves the culture of this company."

Lesjak, meanwhile, is taking the role of interim COO at HP after 32 years with the company. She has served as CFO since 2007, and in 2010 served as interim CEO at HP following the resignation of CEO Mark Hurd.

Lesjak plans to retire at an unspecified time in early 2019, according to the company.

"It's been a fabulous set of career opportunities for me, and I'm ready in early 2019 to move on to my next step in my journey," she said during the conference call with reporters.

In March, HP COO Jon Flaxman died at the age of 61. Flaxman was a 36-year HP veteran who was instrumental in expanding partner sales tools.