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<p><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:403px"><div class="image"></div><p class="source"><keyword id="6528042" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Hewlett-Packard">Hewlett-Packard</keyword></p><p class="caption"><keyword id="187256" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Shane-Robison">Shane Robison</keyword>, <keyword id="852306" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Fusion-io">Fusion-IO</keyword>'s new CEO</p></div>Shane Robison, whose last job was Chief Strategy Officer at Hewlett Packard, has landed a job <a href="http://www.fusionio.com/press-releases/fusion-io-announces-management-changes/">as CEO and chairman of hot flash storage company, Fusion-IO</a>.</p>
<p>Investors are not happy. Shares of Fusion-IO have plummeted this morning and are down 22%.</p>
<p>The hiring of Robison is an interesting move. Robison left HP in October, 2011, about a year before HP CEO <keyword id="168518" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Meg-Whitman">Meg Whitman</keyword> announced a massive $8.8 billion write-off of its $11 billion acquisition of Autonomy. Whitman said HP had discovered $5 billion worth of fraud on Autonomy's books. (UPDATED.)</p>
<p>She publicly <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/shane-robison-hp-autonomy-2012-11">blamed Robison for the mess</a> and shrugged off blame from HP's board. Whitman was a board member before she became CEO, and she was on the board when HP bought Autonomy. The accusation against Robison upset some HP insiders who had worked with him during his 11 years at HP and respected him. </p>
<p>Robison was also involved in some of HP's biggest mergers including Compaq, Mercury Interactive, Opsware, EDS and 3Com.</p>
<p>Under Whitman's leadership, HP has taken big write-offs on EDS <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/hp-and-its-execs-have-been-slammed-with-10-lawsuits-over-the-autonomy-debacle-2012-12">($8 billion) and Compaq ($1.2 billion).</a></p>
<p>Now Robison is running arguably one of the most important enterprise storage companies. Fusion-IO makes flash-memory based storage for enterprises and has helped spawn an entirely new market.</p>
<p>Fusion-IO also employs another famous tech personality, Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak.</p>

Woz's Company Fusion-IO Just Hired The Guy Meg Whitman Blamed For The Autonomy Disaster

<p><em>Hi, this is Amanda Perelli and welcome back to Insider <keyword id="1112328" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Influencers">Influencers</keyword>, our weekly rundown on the influencer and creator economy. <a href="http://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/influencerdashboard">Sign up for the newsletter here.</a></em></p><p><keyword id="10879" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="YouTube">YouTube</keyword> is quietly promoting short videos as it prepares its <keyword id="6762469" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="TikTok">TikTok</keyword> rival for US release. </p><p>Some creators say this has led to a spike in engagement and big audience growth for them.</p><p>I wrote about the new feature, called Shorts, which allows creators to upload short vertical videos.</p><p>The full Shorts feature hasn't launched in the US yet (it's being officially tested in India), but creators are still able to upload videos that mimic TikToks that can appear in a new "shelf" on the app.</p><p>Here's what you need to know about Shorts: </p><ul><li><p>Some creators whose videos have been picked up by the Shorts shelf have seen huge success in viewership.</p></li><li><p>But YouTube creators want to know if their viral Shorts will earn them money once the feature develops (right now videos in the shelf don't have ads).</p></li></ul><ul><li>YouTube confirmed that adding #shorts to videos will give them a better chance of being picked up in the special section.</li></ul><p>"Now that I've started posting more Shorts, I've found that they can be incredibly viral and they are very shareable," YouTuber Alex Sibila said. "Some of my Shorts are now my most viewed videos." </p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/youtube-creators-see-big-growth-with-short-vertical-videos-shorts-2021-1">Read more about YouTube Shorts here.</a> </p><h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/snapchat-creates-overnight-millionaires-with-spotlight-creator-fund-2021-1">Snapchat makes overnight millionaires with its TikTok competitor but creators worry the gold rush will end soon</a></h2><div type="image" title="Katie Feeney Snapchat TikTok" height="1724" width="2299" msid="80512080" hostid="261"></div><p><keyword id="6358096" type="DEFINITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="snapchat">Snapchat</keyword> is also going after TikTok.</p><p>And some creators who never used Snapchat are now leaning into the platform's new feature, Spotlight. </p><p>Dan Whateley, Sydney Bradley, and I spoke with early users who said they'd been paid anywhere from a few thousand dollars to over a million dollars from the feature since November.</p><p>But these creators also worried the gold rush would end soon, as more people flock to the feature.</p><p>Here's how the Spotlight payout works:</p><ul><li><p>Snapchat will reach out to the creator directly on the app about three weeks after their Spotlight goes viral.</p></li><li><p>Then the company will follow up with them over email a few weeks later, confirming the amount. </p></li><li><p>Snapchat uses the payment platform Hyperwallet to pay the creators, and a creator doesn't need to be famous or even have a public-facing account to make money.</p></li></ul><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/snapchat-creates-overnight-millionaires-with-spotlight-creator-fund-2021-1">Read more about Spotlight here.</a></p><h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/danielle-bernstein-weworewhat-insiders-speak-out-2021-1">Insiders say influencer Danielle Bernstein rips off fashion designers and gets away with it</a></h2><div type="image" title="danielle bernstein copy fashion 4x3" height="1875" width="2500" msid="80512082" hostid="261"></div><p><keyword id="819905" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Instagram">Instagram</keyword> influencer Danielle Bernstein sells her branded clothing in stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom. But some designers say her retail empire is partially built on copied designs. </p><p>Rachel Premack uncovered three new allegations of copying against Bernstein. </p><ul><li><p>Two people who worked with Bernstein said she emulated a fabric print from the fashion brand Dolce &amp; Gabbana.</p></li><li><p>One current and several former employees of Onia, a small fashion house specializing in swimwear, said Bernstein had obtained samples from brands and designers and then pushed workers to mimic designs under her own name.</p></li></ul><ul><li>One former Onia designer signed an affidavit obtained by Insider alleging that she saw a fellow employee copy a design. </li></ul><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/danielle-bernstein-weworewhat-insiders-speak-out-2021-1">Read the full story here.</a></p><h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/startup-kollyde-helps-chinese-brands-with-influencer-marketing-abroad-2021-1">A new startup is helping Chinese companies with influencer marketing in the US</a></h2><div type="image" title="Amy Vida - Kollyde" height="1200" width="1600" msid="80512086" hostid="261"></div><p>Influencer marketing has boomed in China, and Chinese brands are looking to hire influencers overseas.</p><p>Dan wrote about a new startup called Kollyde, which aims to help Asian multinational brands navigate influencer campaigns in other markets like the US.</p><p>Kollyde has run cross-border campaigns for consumer tech companies, matching the brands with the Fortnite gamer Lachlan and tech reviewer Marques Brownlee.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/startup-kollyde-helps-chinese-brands-with-influencer-marketing-abroad-2021-1">Read more about the startup here.</a></p><h2>More creator industry coverage from Insider:</h2><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/snapchat-creators-who-have-made-over-1-million-from-spotlight-2021-1">3 Snapchat creators who have made over $1 million on Spotlight</a> (Sydney Bradley, Dan Whateley, and Amanda Perelli)</p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/superplastic-uses-instagram-and-tiktok-to-drive-toy-apparel-sales-2021-1">How a media startup is using animated influencers to drive toy and apparel sales</a> (Dan Whateley) </p></li></ul><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/forbes-newsletter-initiative-journalist-entrepreneurs-inside-details-2021-1">Forbes is hiring dozens of 'Journalist Entrepreneurs' to launch newsletters</a> (Mark Stenberg)</p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/barstools-ceo-on-tiktok-strategy-sway-house-onlyfans-2021-1">Barstool Sports' CEO says TikTok has fueled recent audience growth</a> (Dan Whateley) </p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/demi-subscription-service-connects-chefs-and-food-fans-for-chats-2021-1">New subscription platform Demi lets fans pay chefs to chat</a> (Mark Stenberg)</p></li></ul><h2>This week from Insider's digital culture team:</h2><div type="image" title="jojo siwa" height="959" width="1278" msid="80512088" hostid="261"></div><h2><a href="https://www.insider.com/jojo-siwa-coming-out-comes-queer-lgbtq-youth-impact-parents-2021-1">Nickelodeon superstar JoJo Siwa's coming out is a huge deal for LGBTQ+ kids and their parents</a></h2><p>YouTuber and TV star JoJo Siwa came out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community in mid-January.</p><p>Insider reporters Palmer Haasch and Canela López wrote that her coming out marks significant progress in LGBTQ+ representation, particularly in the world of kids' entertainment.</p><p>Queer therapists and <keyword id="6354777" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Media">media</keyword> experts said that Siwa's coming out could have a positive impact on kids and parents.</p><p>"For anyone walking a similar path and who shares similar struggles, she will shine a bright media spotlight and be a beacon of empowerment for the LGBT community," author Adarsh Vijay Mudgil said.</p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/jojo-siwa-coming-out-comes-queer-lgbtq-youth-impact-parents-2021-1">Read more here.</a></p><p><strong>More on digital culture: </strong></p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/trisha-paytas-shane-dawson-timeline-jeffree-star-trevi-moran-oscar-2021-1">A timeline of how YouTuber Trisha Paytas turned against Shane Dawson and Jeffree Star</a> (Kat Tenbarge)</p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/logan-paul-podcast-controversies-drama-reputation-jake-2020-12">How Logan Paul has been on a path to career recovery</a> (Lindsay Dodgson)</p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/claudia-conway-kellyanne-accused-nude-photo-daughter-twitter-tana-picture-2021-1">Kellyanne Conway was accused of sharing a nude photo of her 16-year-old daughter Claudia on Twitter</a> (Rachel E. Greenspan)</p></li></ul><ul><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/claudia-conway-timeline-kellyanne-challenged-trump-social-media-twitter-tiktok-2020-8">How Kellyanne Conway and her daughter Claudia's relationship has played out in public</a> (Margot Harris and Moises Mendez II)</li></ul><div type="image" title="ninja twitch tyler blevins" height="1298" width="1731" msid="80512090" hostid="261"></div><h2>Here's what else we're reading: </h2><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/26/style/clash-byte-app-acquisition.html">Clash, an app focused on helping creators monetize, has purchased Byte</a> (Taylor Lorenz, from The New York Times)</p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/01/25/magazine/ninja-interview.html?action=click&amp;module=Editors%20Picks&amp;pgtype=HomepageHomepage">Gaming creator Ninja talks about becoming a mega creator and his message to parents</a> (David Marchese, from The New York Times)</p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/techtok-tiktok-engineers-software-developers-programming-2021-1">'TechTok' influencers are showing thousands of engineers what tech is really like</a> (Kylie Robison, from Insider)</p></li></ul><ul><li><a href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/1/26/22249329/youtube-susan-wojcicki-letter-creators-monetization-transparency-policy-covid-misinformation">YouTube has paid more than $30 billion to creators, artists, and others over the last three years</a> (Julia Alexander, from The Verge)</li></ul><p><em>Thanks for reading! Send me your tips, comments, or questions: aperelli@businessinsider.com</em></p><h2><a href="http://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/influencerdashboard"><strong>Subscribe to the newsletter here</strong></a><strong>.</strong> </h2>

YouTube creators have seen big viewership spikes on short videos as the platform preps its TikTok rival

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>HENRY NICHOLLS/Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">British tech investor and former Autonomy CEO Mike Lynch.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>Lawyers for former Autonomy CEO Mike Lynch shot back at HP on Wednesday in a blockbuster $5 billion fraud trial.</strong></li><li><strong>Lynch's lawyers described HP as "floundering" in the run-up to its $11 billion acquisition of Autonomy in 2011.</strong></li><li><strong>HP is suing Lynch and Autonomy's former CFO Sushovan Hussain for alleged fraud over the Autonomy deal in a civil trial in London's High Court. </strong><strong>HP claims that Autonomy's former leadership misrepresented its accounts to make the firm look more valuable than it really was.  </strong></li><li><strong>Lynch's defence said HP had full access to Autonomy's accounts before the acquisition, and said the firm aggressively lobbied the UK government in the wake of the $8.8 billion writedown.</strong></li><li><strong>According to documents shown in court, HP directly lobbied then-prime minister David Cameron, former chancellor George Osborne, and other senior ministers in the UK's coalition government at the time.</strong></li></ul><p>The bitter, $5 billion legal feud between US tech giant HP and two of its former executives ratcheted up on Wednesday, as lawyers for British software tycoon Mike Lynch criticised HP as "floundering."</p><p>Lynch is the former CEO of British software firm Autonomy, which HP acquired for $11 billion in 2011. It subsequently wrote $8.8 billion off Autonomy's value.</p><p>HP has accused Lynch and Autonomy's former CFO, Sushovan Hussain, of cooking Autonomy's books to inflate its value ahead of the deal. It is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hp-mike-lynch-autonomy-trial-high-court-5-1-billion-2019-3?r=US&amp;IR=T">suing the pair, who deny wrongdoing, for $5 billion in London's High Court</a>. </p><p><strong>Read more: </strong><em><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hp-autonomy-emails-5-billion-court-showdown-2019-3" data-analytics-position="1">'You are f***ing toast': HP published tech investor Mike Lynch's foul-mouthed emails as part of a $5 billion fraud trial</a></em></p><p>On Wednesday, lawyers for Lynch made their opening remarks before Justice Hildyard. Lynch himself sat towards the back of the court, dressed in a dark suit, and occasionally examining documents through thick-rimmed black spectacles.</p><p>Robert Miles QC, for Lynch, described HP as a "floundering, essentially stagnant" business in 2011 looking for something to jumpstart its business.</p><p>Leo Apotheker, HP's then CEO, and former CTO Shane Robison saw Autonomy as that catalyst and pushed the $11 billion acquisition through, the court heard. The idea was that Autonomy would help turn HP into a "cutting-edge" <keyword id="6356323" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="enterprise">enterprise</keyword> software business, moving it away from its core "low-margin" hardware business.</p><p>HP even thought Autonomy could eventually be worth $50 billion once the two businesses integrated, according to documents filed by Lynch's camp. But even as the deal completed, HP pushed Apotheker out. Robison also left in late 2011.</p><p>HP appointed former Meg Whitman as its new CEO, and tried to reverse course on the Autonomy deal and Apotheker's software strategy.</p><p>Miles said: "Meg Whitman made it clear she was going to take a different tack. She made it clear she would concentrate on HP's core hardware business [of] servers, printers, and computers.</p><p>"Her view was that that was what HP did. The two men behind the takeover strategy had been removed. Autonomy was left as HP's unwanted stepchild."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>AP Images</span></p><p class="caption">Former HP CEO Meg Whitman.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Under Whitman, HP wrote $8.8 billion off Autonomy's value and blamed $5 billion of that on alleged fraud. Lynch's defence argued that HP was simply trying to blame its own incompetence at managing the integration on Autonomy's former leadership.</p><p>HP, the court heard, planned an aggressive PR and lobbying campaign to justify the writedown, nicknamed "Project Sutton."</p><p>Miles said: "It's about blaming other people to protect the back of [Meg Whitman and HP's board.] To do it through an aggressive approach, which is exactly what they did."</p><p>Internal strategy documents provided as evidence in court showed how HP sought to "preserve the credibility of the CEO and management" through this comms strategy.</p><p>Lynch's lawyers also described HP's simultaneous efforts to lobby the UK's coalition government at the time.</p><p>Documents shown to the court as evidence show that the firm listed then-prime minister David Cameron, chancellor George Osborne, and numerous other Conservative and Liberal Democrat ministers as lobbying targets.</p><p>The strategy documents are dated 20 November 2012, the same day that HP announced the Autonomy writedown.</p><p>The documents show that an HP spokeswoman gave Cameron's private secretary, Simon Case, an advance briefing over two phone calls about the Autonomy writedown. Overall, HP planned to contact more than 50 ministers and civil servants by phone call or letter about the writedown.</p><p>Miles also dismissed HP's allegations that Lynch, as Autonomy's CEO, must have been aware of aware of its accounting practices. "The case that HP advances suggests that Dr Lynch must have been monumentally dim," he said. "As you can see, it's not what he is."</p><p>The case continues.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-credit-card-mastercard-goldman-sachs-no-fee-2019-3">Watch Apple debut its own no-fee credit card</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Software tycoon Mike Lynch shoots back at 'floundering' HP during its $5 billion fraud trial

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>AP</span></p><p class="caption">Steve Wozniak.</p></div><p></p></div></div>SanDisk, a company that makes flash memory chips, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sandisk-is-buying-fusion-io-for-11-billion-2014-6">has agreed to buy Fusion-io</a>, one of the first companies to build <keyword id="6356323" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Enterprise">enterprise</keyword> storage using flash, for $1.1 billion.</p>
<p>It agreed to pay $11.25 per share, a 21% premium over Fusion-io's stock price at the close of business Friday and a brilliant soft-landing for Fusion-io, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/fusion-io">which spent 2013 in a tailspin. </a></p>
<p>Fusion-io was a 2011 IPO darling well-known as the employer of Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, the company's chief scientist.</p>
<p>But things started to unravel for the company in 2012 when it admitted publicly that it was heavily reliant on just two customers: Facebook and Apple. They accounted for <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/fusion-io-apple-facebook-customer-concentration-hurts-for-now-7000010638/">about 50% of revenues</a> at the time and both companies said they had plenty of flash storage and would buy less in the future.</p>
<p>Months later, in the spring of 2013, the two co-founders suddenly left the company, David Flynn (CEO) and Rick White (CMO). In the coming months, other execs would leave, too, its CFO, Dennis Wolf, and <a href="http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1383729/000119312513423199/d620994ddefr14a.htm">its chief sales offer, James Dawson.</a></p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right" style="width:400px"><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>Hewlett-Packard</span></p><p class="caption">Shane Robison</p></div><p></p></div>When Flynn left, the board hired Shane Robison as CEO, previously Hewlett-Packard's chief strategy officer.</p>
<p>HP was Fusion-io's third-biggest customer. But HP also sells enterprise storage, and had just launched its own line of flash storage products that compete with Fusion-io.</p>
<p>Robison left HP in 2011, about the time HP removed CEO Leo Apotheker and hired Meg Whitman. Months later, Whitman <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/shane-robison-hp-autonomy-2012-11">publicly blamed Robison for</a> HP's mess with Autonomy, a company it acquired for $11 billion during Apotheker's reign, writing off $8.8 billion on it less than a year later amidst ugly <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/hp-and-autonomy-fight-gets-uglier-2014-2">accusations that HP had somehow been duped it into paying too much.</a></p>
<p>Despite the public browbeating, Robison was still well respected at HP, sources told Business Insider, and managed to keep Fusion-io's relationship with HP from falling off a cliff.</p>
<p>In fact, just last week, <a href="http://thevarguy.com/secure-cloud-data-storage-news-and-information/061214/hp-first-market-fusion-io-atomic-series-platform">the two companies announced</a> that HP would be the first company to sell Fusion-io's latest and great storage system to customers that bought HP's servers. That's an amazing accomplishment since HP is also trying to sell its own competing 3PAR flash storage systems to those same customers.</p>
<p>As nice as that is, Fusion-io wasn't exactly prospering in a market that now had all kinds of competition. Everyone from startups to established enterprise hardware makers are now selling enterprise flash storage systems. Analysts were expecting Fusion-io to report annual revenues down over 10% year-year-year, according <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ae?s=FIO+Analyst+Estimates">to Yahoo Finance.</a></p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right" style="width:400px"><div class="image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=999hHDqh1tg">YouTube/siliconangle</a></span></p><p class="caption">Fusion-io cofounder David Flynn</p></div><p></p></div>With the acquisition, founder David Flynn did extremely well. He controlled over 6% of the company, or about 6.6 million shares, according to the <a href="http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1383729/000119312513395917/d588320ddef14a.htm#rom588320_49">latest proxy documents filed with the SEC</a>. That stake is worth over $74 million.</p>
<p>That's icing on the cake for Flynn. After leaving Fusion-io, he and co-founder White turned around and launched another startup, Primary Data. It's already <a href="http://www.pehub.com/2014/02/primary-data-rakes-in-60-mln-in-series-b-funds/">raised $60 million in venture funds</a>. It is still in stealth, but we know it's <a href="http://www.primarydata.com/">another storage startup.</a></p>
<p>It's hard to say how much money Robison did for his one year as CEO. He owned about 170,399 shares of Fusion-io, worth $1.9 million with the acquisition, <a href="http://www.nasdaq.com/quotes/insiders/robison-shane-v-80624">according to trading forms</a>. But he was due to be granted hundreds of the thousands more shares as part of a golden parachute or if the company changed hands.</p>
<p>Let's just say, he did well for himself, too.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, we don't know if Woz will stick with Fusion-io/SanDisk or move on. He hasn't tweeted <a href="https://twitter.com/stevewoz">anything about the deal yet.</a></p>

Steve Wozniak's Troubled Company, Fusion-io, Is Being Rescued By A $1.1 Billion Acquisition

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>AP</span></p><p class="caption">Leo Apotheker, the former HP CEO.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>Former HP CEO Leo Apotheker has said he would have abandoned the firm's disastrous acquisition of British software firm Autonomy if he had been aware of its alleged fraudulent dealings.</strong></li><li><strong>Apotheker was the prime architect of the Autonomy acquisition in 2011, but was booted out before the deal closed. HP subsequently wrote $8.8 billion off Autonomy's value.</strong></li><li><strong>Apotheker appeared as a witness for HP during its $5 billion civil suit against former Autonomy CEO Mike Lynch and former CFO Sushovan Hussain.</strong></li><li><strong>He is considered to be one of the most disastrous CEOs in tech, and his rationale for pushing the deal through is under the microscope in court.</strong></li></ul><p>History has not been kind to Leo Apotheker.</p><p>The German-born tech executive is best known as the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, and one of the shortest-tenured bosses in tech after <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ceos-short-tenures-2011-9?r=US&amp;IR=T#leo-apotheker-hewlett-packard-1-year-11">being booted out after just 12 months</a>. </p><p>His hasty departure came in 2012 after he and then-chief technology officer, Shane Robison, oversaw HP's $11 billion acquisition of British software company Autonomy in 2011.</p><p>The deal <a href="https://www.ibtimes.com/hewlett-packard-crisis-leadership-strategy-211590">was considered overvalued</a> and sent HP's share price tanking. Overall HP's share price dropped by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/09/business/leo-apotheker-may-have-been-worse-hp-chief-than-carly-fiorina.html">roughly 50% under Apotheker's leadership</a>. </p><p><strong>Read more:</strong> <em><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hps-project-sutton-plan-over-autonomy-writedown-revealed-in-court-2019-3?r=US&amp;IR=T">Internal documents show how HP planned on killing bad press over a disastrous $11 billion acquisition</a></em></p><p>He was out before the deal even closed - <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/hp/update-2-apothekers-hp-payout-dwarfs-new-ceos-salary-idUSS1E78S1Y920110929">with a $10 million severance package</a> - and HP wrote $8.8 billion off Autonomy's value. It is now suing two of Autonomy's former executives in a $5 billion fraud trial in London's High Court. </p><p>The Silicon Valley firm has accused Autonomy's former CEO Mike Lynch and its former CFO Sushovan Hussain of cooking the books to make Autonomy seem healthier than it really was. The pair deny the allegations and Lynch has countersued HP.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>HENRY NICHOLLS/Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Former Autonomy CEO Mike Lynch.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Apotheker appeared as a witness for HP on Monday and, as the prime architect of the deal, his decision to acquire Autonomy was put under the microscope. In interviews since stepping down from HP, Apotheker <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/e41a31dc-545e-11e4-84c6-00144feab7de#comments-anchor">has avoided talking about Autonomy at all</a>.</p><p>Now aged 65, the grey-haired, bespectacled Apotheker gave his evidence in London's High Court, formally dressed in a dark blue suit and tie. Although mostly speaking in soft, German-Belgian accented tones, he occasionally became fiery as he butted heads with Robert Miles QC, Lynch's defence lawyer.</p><p>The former HP CEO attempted, both under cross-examination in court and in his witness statement, to avoid stating definitively whether he thought Autonomy was fraudulent. But, pressed by Lynch's lawyer, he admitted he thought it was.</p><p>Asked how much he had thought about the deal since 2011, Apotheker responded: "I don't think I discussed it with many people, it's not a happy memory for me. Have I thought about it? I lived through it."</p><p>In his witness statement, Apotheker carefully notes that he has been asked by HP to accept its interpretation of the facts: That Autonomy inflated its revenue.</p><p>He went on to suggest he would have dropped the deal if he'd known about Autonomy's alleged accounting issues. "No such facts were known to me at the time of the acquisition. If they had come to my attention before the Autonomy transaction was closed, I would have been highly suspicious and demanded answers," he said, according to his statement.</p><p>He added: "If such information had come to my attention prior to announcing the deal, I nevertheless think it possible that I would have given Autonomy and its leadership an opportunity to explain the discrepancies. If, as seems most likely, the explanation I heard was not satisfactory, l have no doubt that I would have recommended to HP's Board that it should abandon the deal..."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>HP</span></p><p class="caption">Leo Apotheker's witness statement</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><h2>Apotheker denied that under his leadership, HP didn't scrutinise Autonomy's books properly</h2><p>At the heart of HP's case is the contention that Autonomy presented itself as a "pure" software company, but fudged where a chunk of its revenues actually came from. HP argues that Autonomy did this in several ways, such as by selling hardware such as laptops, keyboards, and mice, and by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/mar/26/autonomy-executives-mischaracterised-revenues-from-clients-court-told">mischaracterizing some of its sales</a>.</p><p>Lawyers for Lynch have fought the allegations, contending that HP rushed its due diligence and that Autonomy had been open about its hardware sales.</p><p>Apotheker denied this in his witness statement. "Far from cutting corners, I encouraged the team to pursue the due diligence we felt we needed," he said.</p><p>In the witness box, Apotheker added that Lynch had specifically sold Autonomy as a software-focused company, rather than one that also relied on hardware sales to make money.</p><p>"[Lynch] said Autonomy was a pure-play software company, focused on software," the former HP CEO told the court. "He briefly talked about the quality of the business model, at which point he did mention it was a very focused, pure-play software company."</p><p>At one point Miles asked Apotheker why he hadn't read Autonomy's most recent financial results around the time of the deal, asking incredulously: "You didn't have 30 minutes?" Apotheker responded: "I was running a $125 billion company, sir, and minutes are pretty precious."</p><p>The case continues.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/hp-trial?r=US&amp;IR=T">You can catch up on our full coverage of the trial here</a>.</strong></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/foldable-phone-samsung-huawei-apple-motorola-2019-3">Everyone's talking about foldable phones, but a few things need to happen before people start buying them</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

HP's former CEO says he would have abandoned the calamitous $11 billion deal that put the firm in a tailspin

<p><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:480px"><div class="image"><p class="source"><keyword id="6528042" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Hewlett-Packard">Hewlett-Packard</keyword></p><p class="caption">Shane Robison</p></div></div>Shares of <keyword id="852306" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Fusion-io">Fusion-IO</keyword> are tanking in after-hours trading Wednesday night, thanks to disappointing quarterly results.</p>
<p>Shares are down by about 19% to about $12.</p>
<p>Fusion-IO reported revenue of $106.1 million, essentially flat from $106.6 million reported in the year-ago quarter. Analysts were expecting $110.2 million. Net loss was $23.8 million, or 3 cents a share, which met analysts expectations.</p>
<p>The company makes <keyword id="6356323" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Enterprise">enterprise</keyword> storage drives based on flash, the same storage used in smartphones and thumb drives. It is known as the biggest of the enterprise flash companies, with Facebook and Apple as customers. It's also known for employing Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak.</p>
<p>This was the first earnings report for Fusion-IO's new CEO Shane Robison, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/shane-robison-becomes-fusion-ios-ceo-2013-5">who joined mid-quarter in May after the two cofounders</a>, David Flynn (CEO) and <keyword id="1668012" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="40" keywordseo="Rick-White">Rick White</keyword> (CMO), suddenly left the company. Robison's last job was as Chief Strategy Officer for HP, a post he left in October, 2011.</p>
<p>The company blamed higher marketing costs and costs related to absorbing 60 employees from its acquisition of Colorado-based NexGen Storage, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/07/us-fusionio-results-idUSBRE97614W20130807">reports Reuters' Lehar Maan</a>. The company now has about 940 employees.</p>
<p>Fusion-IO was one of the most anticipated tech IPOs in 2011. But last month <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanvardi/2013/07/02/fusion-io-the-other-hot-tech-ipo-that-went-badly/">Forbes Nathan Vardi c</a><a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanvardi/2013/07/02/fusion-io-the-other-hot-tech-ipo-that-went-badly/">alled the stock's performance a "debacle."</a> He explained:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">"It went public in 2011 at a sky high multiple of 41 times the previous year’s sales, valuing the company at $1.48 billion. Fusion IO raised $233 million in the IPO by selling shares for $19 each and the shares jumped to as high as $39.60 in its first five months as a public company. Since then the shares have crashed."</p>

Former Tech IPO Darling Fusion-IO Misses On Revenues: Shares Take A Nose Dive

<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"><p class="source">AP</p></div><p></p></div>We've been documenting the implosion of <keyword id="852306" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Fusion-io">Fusion-IO</keyword>, a 2011 IPO darling and the employer of Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.</span></p>
<p>On Wednesday, the company reported <a href="http://www.fusionio.com/press-releases/fusion-io-reports-fiscal-first-quarter-2014-results/">a loss for the quarter</a> and said its CFO, Dennis Wolf, was leaving.</p>
<p>For the quarter that ended on Sept. 30, Fusion-io reported a loss of $27.9 million, or 28 cents a share.  A year ago, it reported a 4 cents per share profit ($3.9 million). On a non-GaaP basis, it reported a loss of 7 cents per share. <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Analysts were expecting a loss of 11 cents.</span></p>
<p>Revenue was down 27% to $86.3 million, slightly beating expectations for $84.73 million, a drop of 28%.</p>
<p>Fusion-io significantly will miss expectations for the current quarter, however, saying it expected only slightly higher revenue, while analysts were counting on a rise of more than 30% to $113.8 million.</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Stock is down almost 13% in after hours trading.</span></p>
<p>Fusion-IO, which makes flash storage systems for enterprises was one of the most anticipated tech IPOs in 2011. Fusion IO raised $233 million in the IPO by selling shares for $19 each and the shares jumped to as high as $39.60 in its first five months. </p>
<p>But in early 2013, Fusion-io admitted that it was relying heavily on just two customers: Facebook and Apple. They accounted for about 50% of revenues, and both companies said they had plenty of flash storage and would buy less in the future. Plus there's a ton of new competition in this market, including Violin Memory, which finally went public last month after years of hinting about an IPO. The <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/violin-memorys-ceo-on-its-awful-ipo-2013-9">IPO didn't go well</a>.</p>
<p>In 2013, it's been a revolving door among Fusion-IO executives. The company hired former HP executive <span>Shane Robison </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">and, a couple of weeks later, the two cofounders David Flynn (CEO) and Rick White (CMO) suddenly left. </span></p>
<p>Robison was previously Chief Strategy Officer at Hewlett Packard. He left HP in 2011 and a year later, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/shane-robison-hp-autonomy-2012-11">HP CEO Meg Whitman publicly blamed him</a> for HP's disastrous acquisition of Autonomy.</p>
<p><span><span>Wolf left Fusion-IO</span> to become CFO at DataStax, a startup that makes a NoSQL database and has a number of big <keyword id="6356323" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Enterprise">enterprise</keyword> customers.</span></p>
<p><span>In the meantime, Fusion-IO stock is down more than 40% since the start of the year and the outlook isn't good.</span></p>

More Bad News From Steve Wozniak's Fusion-IO: A Crummy Outlook And The CFO Is Leaving

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right click-to-enlarge"><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="Violin Memory" title_caption="Don Basile CEO Violin Memory" class="zoomin" href="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5244ddaceab8ea020c8b4567-960/don-basile-ceo-violin-memory-1.jpg"><span class="click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><a href="http://www.violin-memory.com/company/management-team/">Violin Memory</a></p><p class="caption">Don Basile CEO <keyword id="1422981" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Violin-Memory">Violin Memory</keyword></p></div><p></p></div>Things are getting ugly at Violin Memory, a company that makes on-site, <keyword id="6356323" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Enterprise">enterprise</keyword> storage hardware that just went public two months ago. CTO Jonathan Goldrick has left the company, Violin confirmed to Business Insider, and shareholder lawsuits are flying.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://seekingalpha.com/symbol/vmem/stocktalks">rumor is that CEO Don Basile</a> could leave soon, too.</p>
<p>A Violin spokesperson told us:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">I can confirm that Jonathan has left on good terms. His responsibilities are being shared by Violin's Founder and CTO Jon Bennett and CTO Som Sikdar (co-founder of GridIron). As far as Don being out of the company --- that is a rumor, and we cannot comment on rumors.</p>
<p>Violin's IPO in September wasn't a hit. It raised $162 million by selling shares for $9, but on opening day, the stock tanked, diving to about $7. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/violin-memorys-ceo-on-its-awful-ipo-2013-9">As we reported at the time</a>, investors were likely scared off by how quickly Violin was burning through its cash and by the fact that its once largest partner, HP, had ended that deal to become a competitor.</p>
<p>On November 22, the company reported its first earnings and the response was awful. It  reported a loss of 66 cents per share, and an adjusted loss of 85 cents per share. Analysts had expected a loss of 44 cents per share. That prompted <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/violin-memory-dives-458-premarket-after-earnings-2013-11-22">analysts at J.P. Morgan and Sterne Agee to downgrade the stock, according to MarketWatch's <span id="byline">Ben Eisen.</span> </a></p>
<p>Investors started selling, and the share prices plunged nearly 46% to about $3.</p>
<p>Over the past couple of days <a href="http://www.4-traders.com/VIOLIN-MEMORY-INC-14383013/news/Violin-Memory-Inc--Law-Offices-of-Howard-G-Smith-Announces-Lead-Plaintiff-Deadline-In-The-Class-Ac-17602263/">at least</a> <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/lieff-cabraser-announces-class-action-litigation-against-violin-memory-inc-vmem-2013-12-07">five</a> <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hagens-berman-investigates-violin-memory-inc-notifies-investors-of-jan-27th-deadline-2013-12-06">shareholder</a> <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/2013/12/04/5970888/attention-violin-memory-inc-investors.html">lawsuits</a> <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/zeldes-haeggquist-eck-llp-announces-investigation-of-violin-memory-inc-concerning-possible-violations-of-securities-laws-2013-12-11?reflink=MW_news_stmp">have been filed</a> against the company. They allege that the company didn't disclose how much of a hit it was taking because of the federal shutdown. Shareholder lawsuits are pretty common when things go wrong, so that in itself isn't unusual.</p>
<p>However, there has also been grumbling on <a href="http://seekingalpha.com/symbol/vmem/stocktalks">investor blog Seeking Alpha</a> over Basile's compensation.</p>
<p>In September 2013, while setting up for the IPO, the board awarded him 1 million shares of stock (RSUs) that will mature over four years. In 2013, he earned a $400,000 salary, a bonus of $725,000, options worth nearly $3 million and stock awards worth $14.8 million - all told $18.9 million in total compensation.</p>
<p>Basile joined Violin in 2009, stealing him from its arch competitor, <keyword id="852306" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Fusion-io">Fusion-io</keyword>, where he had been CEO.</p>
<p>Fusion-io, known as the employer of Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak and former HP executive Shane Robison, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/fusion-io-reports-loss-cfo-leaves-2013-10">is in the middle of its own troubles.</a> It was a tech IPO darling of 2011, launching at $19. Today, it's trading at about $8.75, and is fending off <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/news/lawsuit-behalf-investors-fusion-io-144000634.html">a shareholder lawsuit of its own. </a></p>
<p>In October, after a worse-than-expected quarter, it announced that its CFO, Dennis Wolf, was leaving.</p>
<p>Amidst all of this, Violin and Fusion-io competitor <keyword id="1971699" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Nimble-Storage">Nimble Storage</keyword> has decided to go public this week, on Friday.</p>
<p>Nimble is hoping to raise up to $160 million by offering 8 million shares between $18 and $20. Today it increased its share price, too, up from the $16 to $18 range.</p>
<p>We'll see how eager investors are to try their hand at another enterprise flash storage startup, given the situation at the previous two.</p>

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