
Outraged at the continuous leaks from board meetings, HP Chairwoman Patricia Dunn decided to hire investigators to find the source of the leaks. The investigation led to longtime board member George Keyworth. The process, to say the least, caused an uproar.
The reason I'm bringing it up is to talk about what is really happening here that would cause HP to be so divided within. There is a lot here that is not being said.
Roger Kay, founder of research firm Endpoint Technologies, gives a little insight saying, "This [the phone call surveillance] is the continuance of the long dispute that began with the purchase of Compaq.
"There were two camps that were created, and the wounds have never fully healed."
Patricia Dunn
Evidently the problem goes back to 2005, when Keyworth called The Wall Street Journal on his own initiative to reveal what happened in a meeting where HP directors told CEO Carly Fiorina that she needed to delegate part of her authority. When she refused, it led to her firing.
When the Compaq acquisition by Fiorina was complete, it started a proxy fight with Fiorina against Walter Hewlett, the HP founders' son. Fiorina won that battle but lost the war. The wounds are still there and it seems there is nobody in Hewlett Packard that is able to bring the sides back together again.
The deal with Compaq was so emotionally charged, that it probably was a huge mistake for the deal to be made in the first place. When you think of the behavior of all of those involved with this situation, its making them look like a bunch of amateurs. The problem is that this is a public company that is expected to perform professionally with the shareholders money. This whole fiasco shows that there is a huge leadership problem at Hewlett Packard.
With the emotions involving this being so high after over a year, maybe they should just put Compaq on the block and take care of the problem once and for all. To let these problems sit around and dilute the company's attention from the business of serving its customers and adding shareholder value, won't be tolerated much longer by anybody.
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» Patricia Dunn Has All Criminal Charges Dismissed by Judge from ManagersRealm
Patricia Dunn, formerly of Hewlett Packard (HPQ) has breathed as sigh of relief as a California judge dismissed all criminal charges against her. Along with that, the other co-defendents will plead guilty to lesser charges and may not get any... [Read More]
Tracked on: March 14, 2007 4:34 PM | Permalink to Trackback