NEW YORK Ex-Warren resident leaves H-P position

A former Warren resident is a front-runner to become WorldCom CEO.
NEW YORK (AP) -- After just six months as No. 2 at Hewlett-Packard Co., Michael Capellas quit the computing giant and its difficult integration of Compaq Computer Corp. on Monday, apparently with an eye on another sizable challenge: the leadership of bankrupt WorldCom Inc.
Capellas, a graduate of Warren G. Harding High School in Warren, would replace John Sidgmore as chief executive at WorldCom, the Mississippi-based telecommunications provider that admitted a $9 billion accounting fraud and is mired in the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history.
Interim replacement
Sidgmore has been considered an interim replacement for WorldCom founder Bernard Ebbers.
WorldCom spokeswoman Julie Moore would not comment on the CEO search. But HP's announcement that Capellas was leaving to "pursue other career opportunities" came hours after The Wall Street Journal reported that he had become the front-runner to succeed Sidgmore.
Several analysts said HP will miss Capellas, who was Compaq's CEO for three years before HP's $19 billion acquisition of Compaq in May. His hyperkinetic, workaholic style made him a natural at overseeing HP's daily operations.
No replacement
Palo Alto, Calif.-based HP contended that Capellas won't need to be replaced because Carly Fiorina, the chairwoman and chief executive, will assume his duties.
Lehman Bros. analyst Daniel Niles said that Capellas had essentially completed his post-merger tasks and that it was natural Capellas would want to be a CEO again.
"Michael is a very ethical, straightforward guy," Niles said. "There's no way in my mind he would ever leave this company if it were a mess."
Also, as part of Capellas' contract with HP, he now will collect a $14.4 million bonus, for which he would have been ineligible if he quit HP more than a year after the Compaq deal closed.