On a conference call with analysts, HP chairman Ray Lane spelled out the three reasons the board decided to can Leo Apotheker:

1. HP's executive team was not on the same page. "This is a big company that requires the executive team to be on the same page ... we didn't see an executive team working together," said Lane. [It must have been filled with executives fighting each other.]

2. No operating execution. Interestingly, Lane and the board like Apotheker's strategy, they just hate his inability to pull it off. Lane said Apotheker couldn't get down deep in the business to land it ahead of expectations.

3. Communications were horrible. Sounds like Apotheker's undoing started on August 18 when the company announced plans to kill the TouchPad, and potentially spin out the PC business. It was muddled message, and the board didn't appreciate it.

Lane wasn't just negative on Apotheker. He was also negative on Mark Hurd. He said Apotheker came and the company's spending had been cut to the bone and it couldn't operate. Apotheker had a strategy, but the board saw "weakness" and didn't think he'd get the job done.

Lane believes that the three areas of deficiency he outlined are strengths for Meg Whitman, the new CEO. Her greatest attributes are, "leadership," "team play," "communications," and "execution," according to Lane.

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