Hurd's appointment comes less than two months after HP ousted its former chief executive Carly Fiorina.
Mark Hurd
"He has done an astonishing job at NCR and had inherited similar problems" to those at HP, according to a source close to the board. "NCR sells into retail and enterprise markets and has the same complexities."
NCR issued a statement Tuesday that Hurd was resigning to take "a position with a large global technology company." His resignation is effective immediately.
"I'm very proud of what NCR has achieved during my tenure as CEO and I'm confident that with the company's leading technologies and attractive markets, coupled with the management team's focus on execution, the momentum will continue," Hurd said in a statement.
James Ringler, an NCR board member, will serve as interim CEO while the company searches for a replacement.
During the search, Hurd emerged as a clear frontrunner within the first month of the effort even though he was not well-known to HP prior to its CEO search. He was not among the candidates reviewed when HP selected Fiorina six years ago.Nonetheless, he made a favorable impression on this go-round. "He's young, he has a fabulous record, he understands the industry, he's tough and recruits good people," the source said.
Hurd, 48, initially joined NCR in 1980 and rose up the ranks. He has worked as a senior sales and marketing executive and later as the chief operating officer. In March 2003, Hurd was named CEO.
The company, which last year generated US$5.98 billion in revenue, provides software, hardware and services for automated teller machines, data warehousing and IT services.
In the fourth quarter, NCR posted revenue of US$1.79 billion, a 9 percent increase over the previous year. And the company generated fourth-quarter net income of US$124 million, up from US$80 million.
NCR's stock has risen three-fold since Hurd was named chief.
Analysts have applauded Hurd's performance since he took NCR's helm two years ago. NCR's stock closed at US$37.90 a share during the regular trading session Monday, compared with US$9.06 a share, split-adjusted, when Hurd took the CEO post."With NCR, you had a company that was run poorly for three or five years, but within nine months, you had a sense of what Mark could do," said Jeff Embersits, an analyst with Shareholder Value Management. "He has a broad skill set and he'll go into HP and correct the strategy, product, management and costs--and probably in that order."
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