Robert Wayman, vice president and chief financial officer of Hewlett-Packard Co., is planning to retire after 21 years on the job, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cites people familiar with the matter.
Reportedly, the company has launched a search for his replacement but has not specified a timetable for his departure. However, it is likely that Wayman will resign in the next few months, noted the paper.
HP is “deep into the search,” one of the Journal’s sources said. However, a company spokesman would not comment or make Wayman available for an interview.
In recent years, Wayman had expressed interest in retiring and moving to the house he built in the Hawaiian Islands, said the report. Furthermore, it pointed out that Wayman wanted to retire last year, but postponed those plans after the company fired chief executive Carly Fiorina in February and appointed Wayman interim CEO.
Mark Hurd took over as CEO in April, and Wayman remained as CFO.
Wayman’s compensation for 2005 was $7.7 million, including $3 million for the two months he served as interim CEO, according to the company’s latest proxy filing.
Wayman joined HP in 1969 as a cost accountant. He was elected vice president and CFO in 1984, after being named controller in 1984 and deputy corporate controller in 1981.
The Journal credited Wayman with helping then-CEO Lewis Platt spin off HP’s instrument group—which became Agilent Technologies Inc.—in 1999. He also supported Fiorina’s controversial decision to buy Compaq Computer Corp. for $19 billion.