HP Adds EDS to its Technology Solutions Group to Better Serve Business and Public Sector Customers

EDS CEO Ron Rittenmeyer retires; Joe Eazor to lead EDS business unit

PALO ALTO, Calif : HP has announced that Ron Rittenmeyer, president and chief executive officer of EDS, an HP company, will retire effective Dec. 31, 2008.

At the same time, EDS will become a business unit within HP’s Technology Solutions Group (TSG), providing customers with the industry’s broadest portfolio of information technology products and services. The newly combined TSG business group accounted for roughly $14.6 billion, or 43 percent, of the company’s total revenue in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2008 and more than half of the company’s operating profit.

The new organizational structure will allow HP to sell and deliver more integrated solutions for its customers. In addition, this organizational change is expected to allow HP to continue to quickly realize its revenue growth and cost-efficiency goals for EDS.

Joe Eazor will assume the role of senior vice president of EDS with responsibility for the business unit’s operations, reporting directly to Ann Livermore, executive vice president of TSG. Rittenmeyer, who joined EDS in 2005 and was named chairman and CEO in 2007, played a key role in accelerating the company’s transformation and subsequent integration within HP.

“HP redefined the enterprise IT market with the acquisition of EDS. We are ahead of schedule with the integration of EDS, and combining TSG and EDS is the next step in that process,” said Mark Hurd, HP chairman and chief executive officer. “Ron’s insights were key to setting the foundation for integrating EDS’ world-class services capabilities with the market-leading portfolio of HP products and services. I thank Ron for his strong leadership during the integration process and wish him well in his retirement.”

“With EDS, HP delivers to customers a broad spectrum of technology solutions that is simply unmatched by any other provider,” said Livermore. “Our relentless focus on product and service leadership will ensure that HP becomes the first choice for customers, whether they choose to consume technology by implementing HP products, outsourcing it to us, or receiving it via the cloud.”

Eazor, 46, currently serves as senior vice president of Transformation. He led the EDS deal team through its acquisition by HP and the subsequent integration. Prior to the acquisition, Eazor was executive vice president of Corporate Strategy and Business Development at EDS. He also served as senior vice president of EDS Asia Pacific, with responsibility for more than 30,000 employees in the region including India, China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand.