Holding the position of CEO with a company the size of Hewlett-Packard surely must be a daunting task.  Since Mark Hurd took over after Carly Fiorina was replaced a year ago, things at HP have only gotten better.  Along with the stock rising 47 percent since he started, he also brought back trust and optimism that the company lost from its employees.  According to the San Jose Mercury News:  

During his inaugural year, Hurd has established himself as a low-profile leader who has coaxed profitability out of every business segment, largely by slashing expenses. While employees and analysts are enthused about his accomplishments so far, many wonder whether he can conquer the next big challenge: increasing revenue.

Fiorina laid off 33,500 workers during her reign.  Hurd announced in July that he would be laying off around 15,300 employees in an action that will take a year and a half to complete.  Even with the layoffs, employees are more at ease because he has done a better job justifying the action compared to his predecessor.  From an internal standpoint, HP is very optimistic about what it is planning for the future.