Autonomy boss Mike Lynch blames exit on Hewlett-Packard 'turmoil' Mr Apotheker was ousted and replaced by Meg Whitman shortly afterwards. At first, Ms Whitman backed and Mr Lynch and the Autonomy deal, telling investors it was her "priority one, two and three." Mr Lynch, who pocketed $800m in the sale, told peers that HP had vowed to allow Autonomy to remain "high-speed, smaller and more agile." However, he now says that Autonomy's independent spirit was compromised by HP. "Once it became clear that the new chief executive's strategy was staying more with hardware, it meant some rethinking of the original plan, and its focus on our independence became blurred," he told a newspaper. We went into the deal with our eyes open. We were just unlucky that it coincided with the turmoil at the top of HP. A fifth of Autonomy's 1,800 staff have left the company since its sale to the US computer giant, including around a quarter of its senior managers. Insiders claim that HP was stiflingly bureaucratic. One source cited a conference call to discuss a new product that had 53 people dialling in. Mr Lynch was sanguine about the experience. I have a great deal of respect for Whitman, and for her senior management team. I have learnt a lot," he said. HP is one of America's great technology companies. She and the team have a big turnaround job to do, and I wish her and HP the best.