HP's Board Ousting Mark Hurd: An Example of Corporate Governance?
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Code : GOV0058
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Region : US |
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HP Under Carleton Fiorina Hurd was appointed as CEO of HP in 2005. He succeeded Carleton S. Fiorina (Fiorina). On assuming the job, Hurd declared, "To make HP a great company once again, we need more than competitive costs and operational efficiency. We're in the process of assessing and refining our growth strategy, and the same concepts that were behind our operational changes will be at work here: simplicity, focus, alignment, and execution." Observers felt that he had succeeded in bringing back simplicity and focus into HP by deviating completely from Fiorina’s management style.... Mark Hurd at HP: Beginning a new Era To arrest both – falling stock prices and the exodus of executives – HP called in Mark Hurd, CEO of the little known NCR Corp , to head HP, replacing Fiorina. Before taking up HP’s offer, Hurd had been an unknown entity outside NCR with hardly any experience in managing big corporations. However, at NCR, Hurd had led a turnaround by integrating the company’s hardware business with the acquired Teradata Corp's software business. He was reputed to be a tough numbers guy with a penchant for ruthless execution and for being media shy. Analysts stated that he was a far cry from Fiorina with her ground-wrenching strategies and highflying celebrity aura... The Controversy: Beginning of the End of the Era Hurd and Fisher's relationship began in 2007, when he hired her as a marketing consultant for CEO summit meetings. Fisher would introduce him to customers and keep him company. HP held CEO executive summit meetings, at which top executives from HP’s best customers were invited. Fisher was interviewed by Hurd ¬though a CEO interviewing any candidate for such a small position was unusual, according to the trade press. Fisher was a 50-year-old former actress with a few R-rated movies and TV reality shows to her credit... |
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The Resignation The sudden announcement of Hurd's resignation on August 6, 2010, by HP's Board of directors attracted just the kind of media scrutiny they had hoped to avoid. The New York Times summed up, "H.P.'s board stunned Silicon Valley and Wall Street late Friday by announcing Mr. Hurd's resignation as chairman and chief executive of the computing and printing giant, involving what it said was a "close personal relationship" with a contractor who helped with the company's marketing"...
