I woke up this morning to hear that Mark Hurd – HP’s Toxic CEO resigns after a sexual harassment investigation.
[I] “realised 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“
Guess what Mark – you never did!
I suppose there’s a sense of vindication here, I always believed that Mark Hurd was not only the living contradiction of everything HP’s corporate values stood for, he was also the shining example of everything wrong with corporate America.
I would be jumping for joy if it wasn’t for the very real pain he caused for thousands of people, employees, former employees, families of employees, and local economies.
I’ve written everything I wanted to say about him in the following articles;
- HP Pay Cuts – an unfair act of economic opportunism and greed.
- Mark Hurd contributes another 6000 unemployed to the global recession!
- Mark Hurd, could he be America’s most toxic CEO?
- Mark Hurd and HP, economic opportunism and greed, one year on.
So, I’m pleased, really pleased, that he is gone, but, given that his predecessor, Carly Fiorina, was, and still is, an idiot, and, given the seemingly nefarious nature of big Corporate America, things don’t bode well for a successor.
Recommended Reading on this subject
Thanks to our friend at FuckYouMarkHurd.com, I noticed this book which looks interesting. Sound’s like this could be the closest thing to being a “fly on the wall” witnessing all the shenanigans and sleazy going’s on behind the closed doors of HP’s boardroom over the past decade.
The Big Lie
Anthony Bianco, in his book The Big Lie: Spying, Scandal, and Ethical Collapse at Hewlett Packard
gets to heart of the ethical morass at HP that ended up damning the entire board that created it. Almost every American has an interest in how the country’s greatest corporations are run, and the character of the people entrusted with them. The story of Hewlett-Packard reflects power struggles that shape corporate America and is an alarming morality tale for our times.
I’m going to enjoy reading this one.
Secured by
I am still getting shafted and I am not even there anymore (MY CHOICE). Coming after me for an “overpayment” of less than 10 hours on my last check. After I worked overtime, final salary was 1% less then when I started, left behind all of my vacation because there was no one to back me up if I took it, Ranked top in all my reviews, and they are still “billing” me for the less then $300 of “overpayment. If I do not pay, they will delay my W2. That is SAD for a company that makes over 118 billion a year.
Guess that was how they are able to pay the golden parachutes, or retaliation for not getting to lay me off.
The real insider information on teh Past and Current CEOs of HP…. It is a shame these guys never were taught any morals or ethics
On Leo Apotheker
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-10/hp-s-apotheker-like-carmen-san-diego-is-focus-at-oracle-trial.html
On Mark Hurd
http://www.mercurynews.com/top-stories/ci_16538210
HP has a serious case of low morals in high places
So shit will not change….
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/howlett/h-p-to-oracle-here-comes-leo-and-ray/2491
“Any thought that H-P would acquire SAP is fanciful. Regardless of what I might think, there is no escaping Apotheker’s low employee ratings at the time of his departure.”
So the board found another person that will continue the “Hack the Employee” was…. Just when you thought it was safe to go back to work at HP
PITTY
Nope…shit wont change, it’s US corporate business as usual and the employee doesn’t matter.
He is as unethical and immoral as they come. I say good riddance to him, but why can’t we just boot all of them out. I don’t think any of the executives at HP are any better. How can they be, when their goal is to screw the employee and the customer out of everything they can every day. If we got rid of all of the execs it would not impact the actual business that is done day to day. Then they wouldn’t waste employee time by sending the same email over and over, worded slightly different, from a different executive office. Obviously they have too much time on their hands and therefore their job could be eliminated without any negative repercussions to the company.
Hello Damien, Another thing at HP is how they are “adopting” Healthcare reform. One thing I know for a fact is that they are putting off coverage of any dependent children, between ages 19 and 26, until their open enrollment. The only way to have your child covered is to verify that they are full time students. This is just another example of how the company saves a buck at the cost of their employees. The new reform states that a child can be covered until age 26, regardless of student status. This means a child who graduates and can’t find a job with benefits can be covered on their parent’s plans. Then even after open enrollment only a child who is a student will get the dental and vision. HP only offers the healthcare coverage to these children. In addition, they already charge employees additional money to cover their spouse if they have any option of insurance from the spouses workplace. HP loves the almighty dollar, and hates their employees.
Well, I do sympathise with you in a number of ways, but, although this may be an example of HP’s manipulation of the health care law, it’s an even better example of how spectacularly (and there’s no better word for it) fucked your health care system in the USA is.
I can’t write anything about this because, frankly, I can’t even comprehend it, it’s that bad.
This is not just an issue with HP, its an issue with the fraud that’s perpetuated on you by your government and their corporate owners. I mean, for a supposed super power, how in the hell did you end up with such a retarded health care system, why on earth is it linked to your employer, and how can it not cover 100% of the population?
As an Australian, and beneficiary of very good nationalised health care, funded, as it should be, by my taxes, and supplemented, voluntarily, by affordable private insurance, run by credible non profit organisations, I can only live in hope that one day you people will wake up, realise how you have been completely deceived, and use your vote to do something about it.
It is confirmed! MH is now co-president and director in Oracle. Look at how fast he sucks up to his new boss ….
Ex HP staff who left to join Oracle must be cursing now … good luck to Oracle employees ….
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/07/technology/07oracle.html?partner=yahoofinance
Some good news finally: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39276575/ns/business-us_business
Let’s hope Ellison has the brains not to leave Hurd in charge of Oracle after he retires.
PLEASE PROVIDE A LINK TO THE A-HOLE BUDZINSKI VIDEO…THE YOUTUBE ONES ARE GONE. UPLOAD IT TO A CHINESE OR KOREAN VIDEO SITE, IF YOU HAVE TO!
THX
Looks like Turd is in talks to join Oracle. Employees better start planning for layoffs…
Hewlett-Packard Co (HP) has agreed to pay the USD 55 million to settle claims which it defrauded federal government, the US justice department said.
This settlement resolves allegations under the False Claims Act that HP knowingly paid kickbacks, or “influencer fees,” to systems integrator companies in return for recommendations that federal agencies purchase HP’s products.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/international-business/HP-to-pay-USD-55-million-to-settle-fraud-allegations-/articleshow/6466116.cms
That seems like an impossible task as Government Motors (GM) announced they are moving the last of the truck production to Canada and Mexico… Gee Whiz … One would think that a company that is owned by US labor unions and our own government would keep, and import the jobs back to the workers.. SO much for Obama and trying to create jobs in the US, when his own company (M) is moving jobs off shore … Just way to sad for more commentary
just ridiculous, PAR currently at $31.25 — a $2 BILLION market cap for a company that has done nothing but mount HUGE losses year after year (currently with an EPS of minus $0.05 a share) and has cumulative losses of about $180,000,000.
This is completely INSANE. Leave it to HP to make decisions best for the company.
I don’t know that much about it but I will say that it’s consistently amazed me that the Company can be preaching the need to cut costs – namely people’s salaries and livelihoods – while seemingly spending up large on acquiring other businesses.
Damian, what are your thoughts on HP’s bid for 3PAR? Many analysts (as well as I) feel that Dell’s original bid was already way too high for what 3PAR has to offer. Is HP’s bid just further proof of their management not knowing what they’re doing or should HP be getting into the storage virtualization game? Maybe Dell should just take the $53.5 million termination fee, call it a profitable endeavor, and leave HP to have to deal with growing that company’s sales.
It’s a sad inditement of the position the USA finds itself in right now isn’t it. While the public is waiting for Obama to pull a job’s led economic recovery out of his arse, and actually believing he can do it, CEO’s like Mark Hurd and his ilk are busily moving jobs offshore.
It’s more than sad, it’s frightening…the USA is in worse economic condition than Greece, just wait until the austerity measures kick in there.
Have a look at this article http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-burnett/the-jobs-crisis-what-hit_b_681148.html?utm_source=DailyBrief&utm_campaign=081310&utm_medium=email&utm_content=FeatureMore for more information…
Don’t worry… HP will not change as a Product Manager, I am being told to cut my development budget for the 4th straight year, this year. The cutting past the bone and outsourcing to Chindia still is of the most paramount importance. My team that just moved to the US from Europe and Canada, are being downsized as we are moving the evolution to their product to China.. HOW SAD
I have never been so excited to leave a company. The management at the top disgusts me, there is some kind of stink coming from the boardroom, and I think this is an effort to cover that up. I have never gotten over the cut in pay to fund their GIANT bonuses, the constant fear of having my position offshored. Sadly, I do not think that the Turd leaving will change anything, he was not the only decision maker…
Perhaps they could list up candidates and organize a global employee election. Factor in the results as one of their considerations in choosing the next CEO. This might improve the employee morale.
and you know this guy, Gary Budzinski is getting bags of bonus. This is what he means by voluntary http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLTwPUjkiRk
It’s a shame HP had to go through the Hurd years but I’m so glad he’s gone. Does this mean it’s time to go back to HP? The poor place is thoroughly shell-shocked. In the last employee survey, 66% of the employees said they would take another job with the same benefits. I wonder if the Board took him in the first place to trim the bushes a bit, but then lost control of him.
I’m so glad he’s gone! Screw you Mark Hurd! You deserve every bit of this. Stop by and vote on why Mark Hurd got fired and more
HPites should demand that the money saved from the pay-cuts be given back to them after hearing that this scumbag will be able to walk away with THAT much money – all while so many employees suffer. I wish some kind of union or strike could be enacted so people could stand up for what is right.
I hardly doubt that things are going to change. And surely dont buy the sexual harrasment / expense report thing.
Things like that have been happening for years and now…HP Co cant cope with a single mother? less fake reports for lower than 20k each? …come on…
…who has been approving the lady’s services and other expenses? if HP takes the SBC that highly, where is the legal pursuit? How do you explain that HP even “compensate” a thief with such a large package?
Im not a fan of Hurd (Im losing my job because of his management), but Im wondering ..why the cruelty of such a public/flashy show? Why dont HP just say that “we have irreconcilable difference” and let him walk away, considering that he was regally paid?
Im with HurtLocker, this whole business is fishy.
His comments may have been inappropriate given the audience, but this is most likely how so called senior leaders think and act. He should have been fired and the salary reduction reversed, not that I know anyone who took it. Ref: Gary Budzinski http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmK8qfd4lSs
This caused a fair bit of controversy when Budzinski made the comments last year, especially in those countries where the pay cuts could not be mandated but had to be agreed by each employee. The video came from a webcast which was swiftly edited to remove the Q&A session including the controversial comments, but not before people had seen (and recorded) it.
I understand Mr Budzinski was advised his comments were ‘inappropriate’…
my bad – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmK8qfd4lSs
You might want to re-post with the link.
Hi all,
Has anybody seen these fims from an HP consultant on over $ 5000 USD per event?
Miss Fisher, a single mother-of-one, appeared in a series of steamy adult films in the 1990s including “Sheer Passion” and “Intimate Obsession,” which were both given a Restricted rating in the United States.
She also starred in “Body of Influence 2,” a 1996 “erotic psycho-thriller” in which she played a seductive patient who “draws her psychiatrist into a dangerous world of jealousy, passion and murder.” The promotional line for the film was “Just try to resist. ”
Found this video of Gary Budzinski on YouTube. He’s talking about measuring who does and who doesn’t volunteer to take pay cuts. We thought you might like to share
A part of me feels a little joy for what has happened, and yet I still wonder whether there will actually be any “real” change on the front-line.
For the normal worker, there are several managers in place before you actually even get close to anybody that has any real say in HP. After the acquisition of EDS; HP in AsiaPac seemed to take a nosedive (even more so than it has been over the past few years).
Ongoing job cuts, zero opportunities to progress, no training, additional workload, off-shoring and so on.
As long as HP is driven by trying to make the shareholders happy, the workforce will suffer – regardless is Mark Hurd is there or not.
Great insight, thank you, it will certainly be interesting to watch.
Damien has written several things about Hurd, all of which made you wonder why the Board tolerated him. But investors, not true investors in the future of the company involved but wall street traders and brokerages, loved him. And let’s face it, as long as the analysts target audience, then they’ll proclaim him a genius. In fact, at least one analyst has stated that HP will have to find a new leader who will be able to continue the cost cutting. Either we’re all incredibly naive and uneducated, or this analyst is just another shill to wall street.
Let’s think about that. If Hurd had done such a great job of resizing and cost cutting, then how can the new CEO be expected to continue the cost cutting? If the job was done well, there shouldn’t be much if anything left to cut. The truth is that even Hurd himself realized that they’d cut too deeply. By looking at HP’s public job postings, on their site, and also on sites such as Monster and Dice, it’s pretty obvious that HP is attempting to soak up additional talent. Does anyone truly believe they can ADD personnel and still drive down costs even further? Of course not.
The truth is that the company in past few years has innovated nothing. They’re innovation plan is innovation through acquisition. Let someone else fund the research, then buy them when they’re mature enough that a huge monster like HP can capitalize on it. I don’t think most people call that innovation.
Hurd was and is a one-trick pony. He knows only how to cut, and when you’ve cut as deep as you can, buy another company and start cutting there. This perpetual “buy and cut” paradigm is unsustainable. If not for the EDS and 3Com acquisitions, and the decline in the global economy, I think we’d have seen a a Hurd-less HP long ago.
But let’s talk about the environment that made it a good idea for him to resign. Recently there have been probes in multiple countries looking into HP’s business practices. While I’m sure most are ungrounded ( or unprovable ), it’s fairly obvious that if Hurd was doing such a great job, the Board would have never publicly released the fact that there was a harassment charge made.
I refuse to believe that the board would have asked him to resign if the charges were completely unwarranted. So one has to ask oneself, was there grounds for public trial, or was HP just scared of the bad press, or could it be that they were afraid of something worse being made public. Considering the various law suits and contract challenges levied in the past year, I’m thinking the latter. I fully expect the SEC to start it’s own investigation soon, and no doubt find some discrepancies on billing. There’s no credibility to claiming that Hurd’s alleged violation of the HP standards of business conduct were the initiator for the change in Execs. And the fact that HP is willing to pay out his parachute rather than attempt to get back some of the millions he took in stock and bonuses further lends credibility to this theory.
So who are they looking at for a replacement? Andreeson, a board member known for his early vision in the industry, would seem a natural for the job, but he’s not mentioned. Perhaps it’s due to his status as boardmember, or perhaps there’s another motive?
Lesjak, the CFO with 24 years of employment with HP, has stated she doesn’t want the job permanently. So what is HP to do?
The way I see this playing out is this..
Lesjak takes over, and takes a pounding from the analysts, as she rebuilds much of the destruction performed in the name of cost cutting. And while the company will lose some value on Wall Street during her tenure, it only sets the stage for a comeback king to take over. Most likely a friend or partner of one of the board members. Those who know what’s to come will make a huge profit, while the vast majority will experience minimal gains at best, they will leverage that knowledge to pursue additional gains.
The new leader of HP, unlike the last, must be a charismatic visionary who will grow the company, and grow their marketshare, without forcing themselves into a spending frenzy.
I had the same thought. I smell something rotten coming from the board room…
Ahhh at last. I'm organizing a booze offsite here just cause of this.
As some of you guys said…its probable that they just get another corporate freak from the gree-o-matic machine
I agree Damian. My first feeling was utter elation that this dispicably evil character has been removed from HP. For a moment I thought that maybe, just maybe, that the board had been biding its time looking for a way to get rid of Hurd.
Now I start hearing about all the extra cash he is due as an exit fee. Since when does it make 'good business sense' to pay off someone who has been fired because they broke the companies standards ? not to mention doing something that was illegal…??
At the same time, I (at my lowly position at HP) am aware from personal experience that the 'ethics compliance' department ignore complaints from rank and file employees….. The fact is HPs ethics are rotten to the core after the Mark Hurd era.
So now the HP board have a choice, bring in a white knight to make HP what HP says it is again. To bring back trust, respect, honesty and above all fairness.
OR
Find another rotten stinking turd who cares only about their own individual wellbeing…Anyone from the current HP exec team will do nicely.
I know which horse I would put my money on.
(
The question I have now is that is the HP Board and executive council also violating the SOBC by practicing double standard? By allowing Mark Hurd to resign and still get paid tens of million. If a low level employee will be fired immediately when violating SOBC, while a CEO is too 'High' to be fired. Isn't this a practice of discrimination, which by itself is violating SOBC.
This will set a precedent. How can a supervisor in future fire an individual who violate SOBC, without feeling no fair. Isn't SOBC uncompromisable regardless of one position…..guess i'm too naive….this is crazy world:(
this is the best news I heard since years ago!!! He leaves behind an internaly totally damaged Company. Moral, ethics, fairness, respect and other values (that he never knew) have been erased 100% by him and his Leadership-Mafia. There was only one measure that counts for him “Multi-Million Dollar Bonus”. It was no any problem for him that ten thousands of people with their families suffered so much. All his behaviour can be described with one word “disgusting”. Good bye Hurd – I hope I that Industry learnt something and no any company will offer you a job again and therefore open the door for you to ruin the next company and to satisfy your abnormal cravings by fireing another then thousands of hard working and honest people!
And he will still get paid tens of million ! Why would he still get paid since he violated the Standard Of Business Conduct in HP. Just because he resigned himself? This is ridiculous! Would a normal employee be compensated if he or she violated the SOBC! He or she would be terminated with immediate effect!