HP Board: We think we want to focus on the enterprise, but we need a hatchet man to cut the consumer stuff. We know it's going to be unpopular and destroy your reputation, and we're going to fire you for doing that. We're willing to pay you about $30M for your trouble. You in?
Apotheker: Hell, yeah.
I don't see how Leo would go rogue... he was clearly a fall guy and he might have been ok with it.
For a guy whose credibility was already in tatters, $35 mm to be a fall-guy for hire seems like a pretty good deal. I suspect he felt the same way when he signed up. I just wonder if he realized the payout was going to come so swiftly.