Internal EDS Memo on HP Buy: Rittenmeyer Remains

According to an internal company memo received by CIO.com, Ron Rittenmeyer says he will remain chairman, CEO, and president of EDS even after it is subsumed as a business group by Hewlett-Packard.

He’ll report to HP CEO Mark Hurd.

One assumes the rest of the EDS’s 137,000 employees are feeling slightly less secure about their own positions in the new company, as the memo indicates, “there are many questions to be answered and decisions to be made in the coming months.”

(For more on HP’s plan to purchase EDS for $13.9 billion dollars and what it means, see my previous post.)

The full text of Rittenmeyer’s note to employees follows.

To the EDS Worldwide Team:

Today is a historic day for the future of all of us at EDS, our valued clients, our shareholders and the entire IT industry. EDS and HP have reached a definitive agreement for HP to purchase EDS.

This transaction would be the largest ever in the IT services market and would create a formidable global competitor. EDS would join the world’s largest technology company. HP enjoys a well-respected global brand and broad worldwide resources – along with a strong operational background.

When the transaction is completed, which is expected in the second half of the year, HP will establish a new business group and brand it EDS – an HP company.

Importantly, EDS would retain the brand all of you have worked so hard to build over the last 45 years. EDS headquarters will remain in Plano and I plan to continue as chairman, president and CEO of this new business group.

Obviously, this news means major changes for everyone involved. There are many questions to be answered and decisions to be made in the coming months. Ensuring a successful integration is our top priority.

What doesn’t change, however, is EDS’ commitment to provide excellent service for our clients. And, we will relentlessly pursue new business while continuing to build the best delivery process in our industry. The core values of EDS are shared by HP, which makes this even more of a winning combination.

In the weeks ahead, I promise to communicate often with you about milestones and decisions affecting our company and our careers. We will thoughtfully manage this entire transition process – just as EDS and HP have done for many other companies we have each acquired.

To begin the dialogue, I invite you to watch a broadcast tomorrow to discuss the transaction. It will air live at 1 p.m. Central time on our EDS Global Broadcast Network, and will be re-broadcast often over the next several days. You will receive more information on the broadcast shortly.

As we complete this agreement, I ask each of you to stay committed to your work, performing at the high levels of service we expect for our clients and from ourselves. I know I can count on you to deliver.

We are – and will remain – EDS.

Ron Rittenmeyer