"We'll look at the entire enterprise," he said. "I can't give you any guarantees on anything." His first priority, he said, would be "improving operations, creating demand for our technology and increasing shareholder value."

Mark Hurd, 48, resigned Tuesday as president and CEO of NCR Corporation, an Ohio-based computer services company. Hurd is credited with reversing the declining fortunes of NCR, the automatic teller machine maker and data warehouse company that is a fraction of HP's size.

Hurd takes over Fiorina's duties as president and CEO but not the role of chairman of the board. Patricia C. Dunn, a director since 1998, was named non-executive chairwoman upon Fiorina's departure.

Merrill Lynch analyst, Steve Milunovich, called Mr. Hurd a "blue-collar C.E.O., more interested in rolling up his sleeves to solve problems than appearing in front of cameras," an allusion to Ms. Fiorina's celebritylike status.