By Jim Carlton, Page B 8,
May 14, 2008:

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Two years ago, then-Electronic Data Systems Corp. Chief Operating Officer Ronald A. Rittenmeyer explained why changes in the tech landscape made rethinking everything at the second-largest outsourcing company so urgent. "We are absolutely at a time where we are never going to go back," he said.

His thoughts then may presage his plans at Hewlett-Packard Co. Tuesday, H-P agreed to buy Plano, Texas-based EDS for $13.25 billion in cash. Mr. Rittenmeyer, now chairman and chief executive officer of EDS, agreed to stay on under Mark Hurd, H-P's CEO. His tenure at H-P promises to be a fascinating case study. The 60-year-old Mr. Rittenmeyer will have to deal with a potential culture clash between his gritty style at EDS and that of H-P. Mr. Rittenmeyer is an unusually aggressive manager known to fire underlings who don't toe the line. H-P's culture, by contrast, is considered more of a consensus-building style -- even though it has become more hierarchical in recent years.

Some observers think a tough-minded approach will serve him well at H-P. "He is a high-control, results-oriented, very focused leader," said Ben Trowbridge, chief executive officer of Alsbridge Americas Corp., a Dallas technology consultant. "It's exactly what you want in a senior leader."

In an interview, Mr. Rittenmeyer admitted he is a stern taskmaster, and compared himself with Mr. Hurd. "We operate the same way. We don't waste a lot of time on stuff."

Over the past 30 years, he has been chief operating officer at Burlington Northern Railroad, and head of operations at PepsiCo Inc.'s Frito-Lay unit. Until 2004, he was CEO of Safety-Kleen Systems Inc., a waste-management company.

In 2005, he followed his old boss from Frito-Lay, Michael H. Jordan, EDS's then-CEO, to help lead a turnaround. EDS was trying to recover from $1.7 billion losses in 2003 amid cost overruns on several big contracts. Mr. Rittenmeyer brought greater accountability to EDS, such as helping set up a new system that gave each of EDS's data centers direct responsibility for a customer's needs -- instead of a centralized office that used to manage the centers from one location.

"Obviously, I think we need to continue to accelerate change, and to push very hard on the quality side of the business," he said Tuesday. "H-P brings to the party some outstanding innovation and technology, which should enhance that."

Last summer, Mr. Rittenmeyer was named CEO after Mr. Jordan stepped down as part of a succession plan. In an interview after he took over, Mr. Rittenmeyer said "My job is to continue what I was doing: [get EDS to] do it bigger, faster," he said.

Another challenge facing Mr. Rittenmeyer: managing relations with Ann Livermore, the well-regarded head of H-P's business technology unit who currently oversees the company's services division. Ms. Livermore said in an interview that she intends to remain with the company. She also said having Mr. Rittenmeyer report directly to Mr. Hurd will help H-P better integrate EDS, and played down any cultural conflicts between the two companies.