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HP CEO Resigns During Sexual Harassment Investigation
A number of readers are letting us know that HP CEO Mark Hurd just resigned over sexual harassment accusations. The company's board has appointed CFO Cathie Lesjak as interim CEO. A contractor had accused Hurd of sexual harassment, and the board brought in outside counsel to investigate. While the harassment claim could not be substantiated, the investigation did uncover other misconduct. Hurd's "close personal relationship" with the contractor created a conflict of interest, and he was also found to have misused company assets. In a statement, Hurd said, "As the investigation progressed, I realized there were instances in which I did not live up to the standards and principles of trust, respect and integrity that I have espoused at HP and which have guided me throughout my career."
Sounds like a classy guy, but sadly I'm guessing this is par for the course at this level of "leadership" in most companies.
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While it pains me to defend this piece of shit, the truth is that the pretexting was the handiwork of Patricia Dunn (chairwoman of HP board at the time), and the Hurd wasn't involved.
It's not the title that's cursed, its the reputation of a once-great company repeatedly getting abused and taken for granted by those chosen to lead it.
Here's to hoping the board has better judgment when choosing the next one. Their track record so far (Carly, and now this) isn't exactly inspiring.
SirWired
I wonder what kind of golden parachute the board paid to make him go away quietly?
According to CNN, he could make $53 million in severance pay.
Note to self: Stop putting jokes in my insightful comments so I can get something other than +1 Funny!
Posting this anonymously since I work for HP.
Seems Mark violated the Standarts of Business Conduct (SBC). Every new employee has to study the SBC and every year these is a mandatory training on understanding this document. It kind of discredits both the SBC and the trainings if the CEO breaks his own rules.
Oh, and I hope they will find a new CEO who actually understands how technology works. Mark was not much better than Carly - HP now hardly does any serious R&D (except for HP Labs which actually does pretty cool stuff), preferring to buy established companies.
As an employee of HP, good riddance. The company's employees have been treated like dirt for at least the past two years. I don't think there is one person who sits within 50 feet of me who isn't actively job hunting. Sexual harassment is just one of his many offenses.
While Hurd himself has proven to be yet another spineless idiot with no moral compass, the General Counsel did not mince words:
(From CNET)
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Holston said the company's investigation revealed that the contractor had received compensation and incorrect expense reimbursement from Hurd as part of his attempt to conceal his relationship with her.
HP's board was notified of the matter after receiving a letter from the outside contracting firm on June 29. HP conducted an investigation with outside investigators and concluded that Hurd's conduct "exhibited a profound lack of judgment," according to Holston.
The amount of expenses involved is not material to HP, according to Holston. "The facts that drove the decision for the company had to do with integrity, with credibility, and honesty," he told investors on a call Friday.
----
For a corporate press release, this is practically ten-magaton nuclear anger. The only time I've seen something close is bankrupt corrupt company trying to throw the old CEO under the bus while trying to worm out of a shareholder lawsuit.
Mark Hurd's bio disappeared from HP's site:
http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/execteam/bios/hurd.html
His motto was:
"Everything we do must be for the customer. If it's not, then we need to reconsider why we're doing it."
http://web.archive.org/web/20071226095057/http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/execteam/bios/hurd.html
He should have tried to respect it...
People have been saying that for a long time. Of course, they've also been saying "Steve Ballmer, get your hands out of the crack of your ass... and stop smelling them!"
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
He was during the end of the pretexting scandal. The practice started under Carly Fiorina. At the time, he said he wasn't aware of it and he was believed. This time, his guilt was undeniable.
Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
Carly was ousted for staggering incompetence, not misconduct. HP's stock shot up 6.9% the day Carly's departure was announced, whereas it dropped 4% when Hurd's departure was announced. In other words, stockholders felt Hurd was good for HPs value, but Fiorina was not.
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
the definition of the two may well overlap: https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Psychopathy#Psychopathy_vs._sociopathy
comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
Actually, only the attractive female contractors will be assumed to have slept their way to the top. The butt-ugly ones will still be presumed to have some skills. For the record, I have worked with women that were both very attractive (to the point of distracting me from my work) and extremely competent and hard working. But I've also worked with a contractor who literally got her job because she was sleeping with another contractor, who then became her boss. This same female contractor then complained when a junior employee made a comment about preferring a blond for the next hire -- fucking hypocrite!
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
But he should have paid for the whole fling out of his own pocket; too many CEOs treat the company treasury as their piggy bank.
True, but if you use company funds for your peccadilloes it's a lot harder for your wife to find out.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
Hopefully next time the board of directors will not choose a sociopath as a CEO. But that is not the only problem:
http://slashdot.org/submission/1285008/Why-Modern-Business-Is-Bad-for-Your-Mental-Health
Should I resubmit this?
I started working for HP shortly after Carly came in, and I had the privilege to work with a number of 30+ year HP employees. They had worked for (and in several cases personally met) Bill and Dave and they had nothing but praise for them. They also had an amazing loyalty to the company - a loyalty that took one beating after another under Carly's leadership.
Maybe you're right that no employee of a tech company has anything good to say these days, but it wasn't the case at HP for many years.
As to the current situation, I know a number of people that still work there and they are miserable - far more so than when I left 5 years ago. Things were tough when I left, but it sounds like they've gotten far worse over time.
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