Departure of the CEO of HP after an investigation of harassment
The president and CEO of Hewlett-Packard Co., Mark Hurd resigned Friday after being accused of falsifying expense reports to conceal a "close personal relationship" with a woman working for a subcontractor.
The announcement was made during the dip the world's largest maker of personal computers by 10%, Mark Hurd is credited with having brought HP to the highest level in five years at the helm of the U.S. group.
Mark Hurd will be replaced by Chief Financial Officer Cathie Lesjak who is acting as interim executive director.A committee was responsible for appointing a new CEO.
A colleague outside the group, who had worked on the marketing of HP between late 2007 and fall 2009, contacted the Board in June and accused of sexual harassment Mark Hurd, the group said.
An investigation ensued and concluded that Hurd had not breached the code within the company for sexual harassment.
But the CEO of 53 years, married, kept "a close personal relationship" with the woman without the knowledge of the board of directors, said HP.
"The investigation board has concluded that Mark had demonstrated a profound lack of discernment that has seriously damaged his credibility and was highly prejudicial to his ability to lead HP, and Mark agreed," said Mike Holston, director of corporate legal department.
The departure of the CEO was unanimous, he added.
The group says Hurd submitted "number of expense reports inaccurate" to conceal the relationship with the offending subcontractor, which has itself received compensation and refunds without a legitimate reason.
The sum of her falsified expense would reach 20,000 dollars for travel, accommodation and meals shared with the woman according to a source close to the Hurd's statements on the case, who spoke of a "working relationship".
Another source with knowledge of the case made it clear that this woman was not a major subcontractor.
ANTICIPATED RESULTS
Mark Hurd, known for its rigor in cost reduction, said in a statement that the decision to resign was "painful".
"I realized that on some occasions I have not met the standards and principles of trust, respect and integrity that I adopted at HP," he said.
The shock is brutal for investors, who saw Mark Hurd as the chief of the success of the Informatics Group.Since his arrival at the helm of the group five years ago, the stock price has more than doubled.
"Mark Hurd has a large responsibility in the revival of the group," said analyst Jeffrey Fidacaro.
"His departure will leave a big void at the head of the group."
The now former CEO of HP scored his mark, combining the rigor of external growth strategy, which took shape with major acquisitions as the pioneer of the smartphone or Palm, in 2008, EDS Corp., a leading software houses U.S. 13.9 billion.
Analysts said the place of Mark Hurd will be coveted both externally as internally, where the manager's PC division Todd Bradley and chief strategy Shane Robinson figure are potential candidates.
Hurd's departure, they added, should not affect either the strategic direction of the company or its performance.
The announcement was however immediately reflected on the price of HP has lost up to 10% in after-hours transactions, dropping to 41.50 dollars after the meeting ended at 46.30 dollars.
To cushion the shock, the group decided to bring forward the publication of its quarterly results.
He announced on Friday earnings per share to $ 1.08 in non-GAAP standards for the third fiscal quarter offbeat performance slightly higher than that anticipated in the consensus among analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I / B / E / S consensus forecast of $ 1.07.
The company raised its earnings per share over the year to a range of 4.49 to 4.51 against $ 4.45 to 4.50 dollars previously. The consensus is at 4.49 dollars.
HP also said it expects an annual turnover of between 125.3 and 125.5 billion dollars, while analysts are predicting a figure lower than this range to 124.515 billion dollars.