HP's Capellas leads list to be WorldCom CEO-WSJ
NEW YORK, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) President Michael Capellas tops the list of possible successors to WorldCom Inc.'s (WCOEQ) departing Chief Executive Officer John Sidgmore, the Wall Street Journal said on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
WorldCom's board informally "has already signed off" on picking Capellas for the job, according to one person close to the situation, the newspaper said.
The five creditors' committee representatives on the search panel at WorldCom, which is operating under bankruptcy-court protection, "are all enthusiastic" about Capellas, the same person was quoted as telling the newspaper.
Sidgmore, who has been leading the search for his replacement since he announced he was stepping aside in September, is also lobbying heavily for Cappellas, people familiar with the matter said, according to the Journal report.
Three other executives are also still being considered by the search committee, people close to the situation told the paper, including XO Communications Inc.'s (XOXOQ) Chairman and Chief Executive Dan Akerson, BellSouth Corp.'s (BLS) Vice Chairman, Gary Forsee, and another unidentified candidate.
Last year, Capellas, the 47-year-old former chairman and chief executive of Compaq Computer Corp., sold Compaq to H-P in a $19 billion deal that met intense opposition from some investors, the paper noted. |
