Top 10 scary tech leaders for Halloween

IT IS THE FRIDAY AFTERNOON before Halloween and The INQUIRER has taken some time out to consider which technology industry leaders it would rather not have hiding in its wardrobe.

We hope you consider the list when deciding on an outfit for your weekend celebrations.

Leo Apotheker
Leo Apotheker, or Leo Apocalypse as we might occasionally refer to him, brought to HP what rats did to London in the 17th Century: panic, confusion and fear.

No sooner had he landed in HP's top spot than he went about alarming people into thinking that they might lose their jobs, departments that they might lose their reason to exist, and investors that they might lose one of their cash cows.

He's gone now of course. Exorcised from the firm just weeks before it announced that it was dropping his apparent big plan for the company, dumping its cash producing PC business.

Larry Ellison
At first glance Larry Ellison looks like a Bond villain, and at second glance, and third.

Ellison created a database for the CIA, and called it Oracle - a name he seems to like, but in the context of law enforcement agencies it becomes somewhat chilling. Since we have never seen him idly stroking a white cat, we can only assume that it is the finely tailored facial hair, the smart suits and his assured presence that makes us think that there is something sinister about him.

Actually, maybe it is the yachts, the jets and the fast cars, and the fact that he is the third richest man in America. It's a tough call, especially when you remember that he gives a fair amount of cash to charity.

Eric Schmidt
Why is Eric Schmidt on here when he's so nice, you ask. Well, it's because surely no one can be that nice.

The ever-smiling Schmidt gave the appearance of a man that would remain calm and composed even when stubbing his toe, and when pushed to comment on things would often only say something nice. Unless of course it was about personal privacy.

Schmidt, you see, is apparently the sort of person that you would not want to tell a secret to, unless that was your bizarre method of getting it out to as many people as possible.

"If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place," he once said, causing privacy activists to shake their fists in outrage.