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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."
but sadly I'm guessing this is par for the course at this level of "leadership" in most companies.
Yeah but HP also had Carly who was forced to resign. Hopefully trouble doesn't come in 3's for HP.
**Sniff** I remember when HP was a well respected company and its equipment was built like a tank
I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
And what info do we have on that golden parachute he will be receiving from HP?
ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI!?
...would like their good names back, now.
After what Carly Fiorina did to H-P, and the nation, and now this tool...hell, I remember when "hp" on the logo meant the very best in quality, not scandal and treason...
I find it hilarious/scary that whenever a CxO gets caught doing something stupid/criminal, the defense is always ignorance. These weasels who get paid more in a day than I get paid in a year suddenly become the most oblivious, ignorant, and stupid morons in the world when they are being investigated for wrongdoing.
It wasn't until the middle of the investigation that he realized he did something wrong? *retch*
Possible scenario:
He hires a mistress / "marketing" contractor.
Takes her on "fact-finding trips" in a company jet.
Dumps her / stops paying.
She sues for "harassment."
Board figures out the real story and lets him "resign"... in the meantime, they quietly pay off the mistress in return for her not filing suit. (Once you've gone public and filed suit with a high-profile case like this, you've just pissed away your best bargaining chips, which involve sweeping under the rug.)
If I was HP's board, I would not have let him resign; he would have been fired on the spot. Although I admit to being surprised that they didn't ham-handedly cover up the story; perhaps they learned their lesson with the wiretap fiasco from several years ago.
SirWired
Had this been a "rank and file" employee, the said employee would've been escorted out of the building on the same day, no severance. Instead we get this loop that's just going to go lay low for a few months then move on and pull the same shit again, till caught... (rinse and repeat.)
ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI!?
I think he's fairly honest here. Do you think these people even bother to read principles of conduct, except when they absent-mindedly recite them to their intended audience (other people)?
HP stock dropped 4% the day Hurd's departure was announced, whereas is shot up 6.9% (at one point it was up 10.5%) the day Fiorina's departure was announced. Larry Ellison has repeated been accused of sexually harassing, then paying off his personal secretaries, but he's still CEO of Oracle... go figure. Charles Phillips, president of Oracle, screwed around on his wife for years, finally concluding in a Billboard in Times Square, but no impact to his career. I guess it just depends on which company you work for...
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
Even in this case I'd post non-anonymously when I can. This kind of comment in particular sounds like it would be no problem to do so.
Clearly you've never dealt with upper management at a large company. I was once reprimanded at a former job (cough*AOL*cough) by upper management for praising, on an internal mailing list, the technology the company was using in its infrastructure, but which had fallen into disfavor by many in management.
When dealing with upper management, my policy has become, "Expressing any opinion is like poking a rabid wolverine with a sharp stick."
It doesn't stop me from doing it. I'm just not surprised when there is retaliation all out of proportion. Almost always, these are not people who want to hear from anyone not parroting exactly what they say.
You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
The first is obviously Mark committing theft, probably grand theft. The second is the board failing in their fudiciary as usual. If the board did what they are charged with doing, Mark would have been told, either resign and get nothing or we take you to court on grand theft charges. Yes you can sue us for your contract spoils, but do enjoy what money can buy in the slammer. I'm pretty sure grand theft is over a year, and in cali that means wonderful places like san quentin are an option. But of course the board rolled over as usual and the shareholders get screwed for 28M. It is just sick what happens in the boardroom. H&P would be puking right now.
Speculation: for there to be a sexual harassment case, there must have been a complaint, which tells me that the lady in question was not happy with Mr. Hurd. She would also be aware of the misuse of expenses, something to be used against him if needed ... so a sexual harassment complaint might be swept under the carpet, but misuse of expenses would be taken a bit more seriously. Lawyers can more easily sink their teeth that kind of complaint. In my estimation, that is.
I can't talk about current HP culture, since I left there about three years ago to go to university. I was wondering whether I had made the right choice, whether I'd have been better off staying. Financially, sure, but in terms of general quality of life ... nah.
(this is not a