When Mark Hurd was hired as Hewlett-Packard Corporation's (NYSE: HPQ) CEO back in 2005, few predicted he would suavely make HP the world's largest computer maker by using swift cost-cutting, a relentless focus on operations, and a laser-focus on growing every possible facet of HP's business.

In addition to his in-depth analysis of technical and fundamental metrics, tech sector expert Paul McWilliams pays strong attention to the quality of management in his assessment of technology stocks.

In a special report from his Next Inning newsletter, he looks to a trio of tech players that he recommends as "strategic investments" based in large part on the quality of their chief executive officers.

Here's his look at Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) and Motorola (NYSE: MOT). explaining why their respective CEOs are the right people for the job.

Hewlett-Packard Corp. (NYSE: HPQ) is thinking ahead to when the market for IT hardware and products will see an uptick again. To help prepare businesses for that day (maybe sometime in 2010), the world's largest computer maker is entrenching itself in long-term Information technology planning with customers to try and beef up capabilities to prepare for some turnaround.

Hewlett-Packard Corporation (NYSE: HPQ) followed its latest bad quarterly results with a prediction for a faltering 2009. According to CEO Mark Hurd, the world's largest computer maker will see many more quarters that ended up like its most recent one.

Hewlett-Packard Corp. (NYSE: HPQ) continues to lead the PC market in sales, and the addition of a laptop model that will run an unprecedented 24 hours on a single battery charge may boost its fortunes even more. The holy grail for those who use portable electronics constantly is battery life. Although battery technology has improved in the last decade or so, the ever-increasing demands from portable electronics like cellphones and laptops mean smaller battery times and more recharging.

HP's new EliteBook 6930p will cost anywhere from $1,800 to $2,000 online, and will come with an optional battery and a solid-state disk drive to help it get to the specified 24-hour battery life (which is probably ultra best-cast scenario). Dell's recently-announced Latitude E6400 reportedly sees 19 hours on a single charge. Perhaps the consumer and business PC markets are about to see a shift away from being compared on their commodity parts to something that really matters to most users -- battery life.

With PCs accounting for a third of HP's total revenue, it's the $30 billion question the company has to ask -- how can it keep growing that segment of its business? Desktop PCs, also at work, are slowly being replaced with laptops -- allowing workers to work from anywhere, the goal of the corporate kingdom -- and laptops are slowly but surely making the standard desktop PC irrelevant.

But that comes with a price: battery life really needs a boost. After all, the definition of a laptop basically implies that the customer needn't be tied to a power outlet at all times. In HP's case, the new laptop only costs $1,200 before the optional $150 extended battery and the $900 solid state disk drive. Are those items worth the price to get an entire day of battery life, though? Sales of the new system will tell us.

Hewlett-Packard Corp. (NYSE: HPQ) reported very decent quarterly results Tuesday after the market close. The world's currently-largest PC maker reported a net profit gain of $2.03 billion, up from the year-ago period gain of $1.78 billion on the back of a $28 billion quarter in sales.

The company's EPS was 86 cents, beating analyst estimates of 84 cents. In news that was not shocking, 68% of HP's sales were from overseas markets, although that was a drop of 2% from the Q2 period. HP, like many manufacturers, has its wings spread out so far in global markets that it was able to weather the U.S. market downturn.

HP guided its Q4 sales at over $30.2 billion, although CEO Mark Hurd indicated that his company's introduction of sleep laptop designs was making a splash worldwide. "You've got a lot of places around the planet where the only access to the digital content out there is through a notebook and a wireless card ... we have a significant opportunity.''

He's right. How many households are transforming to a multi-notebook, wireless environment without a desktop in sight? In addition to that, HP's global finesse and product mix is continuing to beat competitor Dell, Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL), even though Dell wants to change that.

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) probably had a blockbuster quarter at the end of 2007, according to research firm iSuppli. This is the firm that tears products apart to arrive at a cost of materials and digs into mounds of data to make sales projections on companies before they release official information. ISuppli is estimating that the world's largest PC maker increased shipments in the final quarter of 2007 to 14.6 million units from 11.6 million units, 25% above their 2006 year-end figure,

If that figure is accurate, then it just continues HP's remarkable comeback in the last 24 months under buttoned-down and get-it-done CEO Mark Hurd. Things were rosy for competitor Dell, Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) as well in 2007's final quarter, with iSuppli stating the the Texas-based PC maker having increased shipments 17% from 2006's final quarter to 11.3 million units. And don't count Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) out as well, as the smaller PC maker increased shipments a whopping 39% in the last quarter of 2007 according to iSuppli. Apple has increased its PC shipments in excellent ways with excellent products -- but globally it's still in sixth place.

The story here is HP -- its immense presence in consumer retail was timed either perfectly or by design to capitalize on the thirst for laptop PCs from that segment -- something that caught Dell completely off-guard in both areas (consumer laptop demand and retail availability). In 2008, HP's mammoth footprint in the computer business is not expected to slow down, something that Dell desperately wishes would happen. So far, there is little to no chance of that happening.

When Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) again topped expectations for its latest fiscal quarter this week, the world's largest computer maker seemed like it could do no wrong. In addition to again besting estimates, CEO Mark Hurd again set the bar high for other tech CEOs. If Dell, Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) CEO Michael Dell believes he's got a fierce competitor in Hurd, that would be an understatement. Hurd is everything former Dell CEO Kevin Rollins should have been and more.

But that's still not good enough for the low-key Hurd, who most likely believes that the company can still do better. After raising guidance this week for the remainder of 2008, Hurd stated that "we've got a lot of work to do here," using his famous phrase that he's used to describe various high-performing business units within the company. Hurd also dropped a hint that he won't be CEO of the world's largest computer maker forever, stating that "It's important to know when your work is done ... CEOs can stay too long." Not that Hurd is going anywhere at the moment -- he just recognizes that he'll be exiting HP at some point in the future when the time is right.

Hurd's taken a unique, nuts-and-bolts approach to his job that has flat-out worked. Instead of trumpeting vision, he focuses in on strategy and execution. Instead of chasing market share at all costs, he looks at each business unit with laser precision and pays special attention to costs. By taking care of the underlying infrastructure and nurturing all those components, success will emerge. It sure has for H-P, which seems to be outgunning competitor Dell in just about every area where the two compete. It'll be that way until Hurd retires from the company, which will probably be many years from now. Until then, H-P looks to be continually poised at the top.

Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), the world's largest computer manufacturer, has launched the second phase of its "Happy People" campaign in its U.K. offices, according to the company. The program with the trite name has the goal of making its U.K. offices a happier and more productive place to work.

Well that's not a new concept, except for what I believe are CEO Mark Hurd's efforts to cut a bunch of fat from the decision-making layers and real-time information that has really helped HP ascend to the top of the tech world in the last 24 months. In fact, I'll go on record and say that Hurd's obsession with fine-tuning -- in every possible way -- the world's largest tech company is directly responsible for its recent success. Forget the recent "HP Way" -- it's "Hurd's Way," and it's something other companies should pay attention to, regardless of Six Sigma involvement and other business buzzphrases that grab headlines.

Under the Happy People campaign, the focus is to identify the consequences of inefficient paperwork and unnecessary administration. In other words, toss the red tape and enable your employees to be the professionals they are (or should be). In Hurd's mind, using technology to automate, simplify or reduce paperwork is his mantra -- one he's mentioned several times in recent quarterly conference calls as one of the top areas to attack for gaining competitive advantage. A nice side effect is that is leads to increases in employee morale and productivity, according to the company.

Of course it does! Nobody wants to work in an inefficient environment in the information age. The problem is that millions still do.

Hewlett-Packard Corp. (NYSE: HPQ) reported quarterly results yesterday afternoon that were a knockout punch against estimates. Among the profit makers for the world's largest tech company were ink sales and retail sales of PC laptops. With Hewlett-Packard laptops in every imaginable retail store I can think of, this makes perfect sense. They're also priced more attractively than almost all the competition.

HP is the PC manufacturer to beat these days, and it continues to trounce Dell, Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) in sales as well as retail presence. Dell is catching up, but it has a lot of catching up to do. HP CEO Mark Hurd is a formidable opponent to Dell CEO Michael Dell, so the latter will need some innovation to propel growth and rise back up to its former glory circa 2003 and 2004. Right now, HP has the mojo, while Dell is scrambling to keep pace. It's quite a role reversal from 2003, which pitted HP's Carly Fiorina against Dell's Kevin Rollins.

If there is one low-key but effective CEO in the tech business, it's Hurd. He's constantly confident in conference calls and gets his knuckles dirty in terms of making HP an operationally efficient and lean manufacturer at the same time as a marketing powerhouse and sales leader. It's not an easy feat to bypass Dell as the world's largest PC maker and IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM) as the world's largest tech company, but that's what Hurd has engineered in his two years at the Palo Alto company. When a $100 billion (revenue) company beats market expectations for 11 quarters in a short tenure under three years, you have to wonder what's going on. That's Hurd's magic -- he keeps on delivering, quarter after quarter.

Hewlett-Packard (NASDAQ: HPQ) today reported quarterly earnings that beat Wall Street analysts' forecasts for the 11th straight quarter. The company also gave earnings guidance that exceeded analysts' estimates and announced an $8 billion stock buyback.

Net income soared 28% to $2.16 billion, or 81 cents a share, from $1.7 billion, or 60 cents, a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, profit was 86 cents. Revenue jumped 15% to $28.3 billion. The largest computer maker was expected to earn 82 cents on revenue of $21.39 billion. Shares of the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company rose in after-hours trading.

In the current quarter, Hewlett-Packard expects profit of 80 cents on sales of $27.4 billion to $27.5 billion, exceeding analysts' estimates of 77-cent profit and revenue of $26.99 billion.

This underscores the challenge Michael Dell faces in turning around Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL). Hewlett-Packard has been kicking their butts ever since Mark Hurd took over as chief executive.

When it comes to Hewlett-Packard Co.'s (NYSE: HPQ) recent performance, it's hard to give the company bad marks in any area. From what I've seen, CEO Mark Hurd has turned the company around in most aspects, providing investors not only with growth every quarter but with market share leads in many of its business segments. In other words, HP is hitting on all cylinders under "transformational" CEO Hurd than at any other time in the last decade.

HP is beating Dell and others in the PC segment and from its direct and retail (and corporate) presence, it may continue that charge long into 2008 unless Dell comes up with something substantial to grab share back. How did Hurd do it? Easy -- he's an operations guy with a large knack for fundamentals and logisticsand it took just that to transform HP back from where it had been under former CEO Carly Fiorina. Fiorian is often credited for setting up HP for its current success, but I don't see it that way at all, regardless of her take (which I've read). HP's current success is all Hurd.

Market screamer Jim Cramer interviewed Hurd recently, and his answers to what HP has done under his guidance sounds completely appropriate: focus on the fundamentals, work on the cost structure and product innovation. Additionally, 65% of HP's revenue is outside the U.S. (and the U.S. is already strong for the company), and Hurd pointed to strong growth in mobility (laptop PCs). HP's consumer laptop lineup, in my estimation, has one of the most stylish designs combined with competitive prices and retail availability almost everywhere.

Want more proof that Hurd knows what he's talking about? When asked about PC market differentiation, he answered like this: design, service, support, features and innovation. Notice that "design" was mentioned first. Consumers buy design before all else, right? Perhaps HP is taking a page from Apple, Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) product design playbook, and having seen HP's recent consumer laptops, I think this is the case. With HPQ being up 20% so far in 2007, where does it sit in your portfolio?

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) has reported Q3 earnings and the company is about to have a live conference call here in a bit, at 5 p.m. EST. The consensus estimates have stated some pretty lofty goals for the world's largest tech company to hit. Right now, Wall Street has stapled a $0.65 EPS figure on CEO Mark Hurd's forehead, which represents a 20% YoY gain for the PC and printer manufacturer and marketer. Can it hit this looming and large target Thursday? Find out here in a few minutes.

Revenues were expected to be in the range of $23.9 billion to $24.2 billion for the quarter. If HP keeps inline with the growth that many industry pundits expect, it will crack the $100 billion in sales per fiscal year barrier very soon. With all the internal activity HP has generated in the last year (like the Mercury Interactive acquisition), year-ago quarter comps are a little tricky (if even possible), but one thing is clear: HP is doing way more right things under CEO Hurd than wrong things.

In fact, every time I hear Hurd speak on quarterly conference calls, the man seems to have the perfect blend of financial, operational and sales savvy that a $100 billion CEO should have. He exudes cool confidence and you can tell he has all his plays under his jacket at all times, though he does not reveal most of them. I'm quite of the belief that he is the right person to lead HP, and from recent quarterly financial results and guidance, I stand by that opinion. We'll see if Hurd is further vindicated below. With that, let's begin. Remember to use the "Refresh" key on your web browser to refresh this post every few minutes. All times below are in EST.

Mark Hurd took the reigns at computer maker Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) from a marketing whiz (with no ops chops, as it were) in an effort to cut excess bloat along with reviving stagnant sales. He was thus destined to slash every single thing he could that was not direly needed at HP. Hurd brought in Todd Bradley to lead PC sales in the U.S. and after HP's extensive realignment with retailers and fresh new laptop designs, Dell was overtaken in 2006 as the largest PC market. By design? Of course it was.

Dell's direct model was somewhat replaced by HP's new retail model since the company decided it could (or would) not play in Dell's direct customer arena. Instead, HP took a new direction and went whole-hog retail, but still made its products directly available on the internet as well. Either Hurd should be hailed a genius or all the pieces were in place and they all fell together for HP right when everything was falling apart for Dell. The thing is, the game is not over yet for HP.

Hurd honed operational, logistics and cost-cutting skills at NCR over an entire career, and he's brought that to HP along with, what I think is, an infectious enthusiasm that helped rally his teams and go for the win (and to keep on winning). Along with that, Hurd's plan to become as lean as possible (lean manufacturing, Six Sigma would be my guess) while ascending to be the largest tech company in the world is probably an order many CEOs would crumble from. In Printers and Imaging and Services, HP is holding its own as well, and with HP shares gaining 44% in 2006 (and 10% this year already), Hurd is not done yet.

Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) is set to release Q2 earnings this Wednesday at 2pm PDT. The computing and services giant should have all its marbles in a row to have a very good Q2 after beating up on competitor Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) at the conclusion of 2006 and into 2007. What are the estimates? How about a $0.69 EPS figure, roughly the same estimate from the year-ago quarter? No losses here, although it will be interesting to see which parts of the company have contributed to the company's bottom line and which are dragging (if any). But with HP just bumping an already rosy outlook for Q2, the company may be sitting on cloud nine come Wednesday.

HP's current $121 billion market cap speaks highly of the company's effort to return aggressively to profitability, which has happened pretty widely under current CEO Mark Hurd. Although former CEO Carly Fiorina is receiving some of the credit for setting up some of the strategy that has enabled HP to change from a marketing company not making much headway into an operational and customer company that is, Hurd has executed on his expertise (logistics and operations) to cut costs where needed and partner aggressively with its customers (and sell hard) to ensure the company is as good as what it currently looks like.

At the same time, internal politics, spying and strife at HP seems to have mostly blown over, and the company hasn't lost focus and continues to grow at a very respectable rate. After overtaking Dell last year as the largest computer manufacturer in the world, HP became larger than IBM and claimed stake as the largest tech company in the world -- for now. Whether it remains there (or even blows past it) is certainly in Hurd's hands, but only future quarters will tell the tale. For now, HP is sitting pretty, and that position should remain come Wednesday, when I'll be liveblogging HP's Q2 conference call. Stay tuned!