MercuryNews: Packard Foundation members
by: skeptically 11/15/01 12:24 pm
Msg: 261441 of 261449
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November 15, 2001 11:47
Foundation's Board Members Play Pivotal Role in Hewlett-Packard Merger Vote
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By Tracy Seipel, San Jose Mercury News, Calif.
Nov. 15--They are scientists and environmentalists and academics. There is a medical doctor, a newspaper executive and the founder of a small software company. Three are children of David and Lucile Packard. Only two are former Hewlett-Packard executives.
Most of the 12-member board of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation is not well-versed in the intricacies of the computing industry, yet this is the group that will play a pivotal role in the outcome of Hewlett-Packard's proposed purchase of Compaq Computer. Ultimately, the future of HP itself may hang in the balance, as the board weighs whether to support the controversial partnership.
Aside from HP's fate, there is the question of the foundation's own future. Virtually all the foundation's $5 billion endowment -- down from $13 billion just a year ago -- is in the stocks of HP and Agilent, the recent HP spinoff. The 37-year-old Packard Foundation, chaired by Susan Packard Orr, controls 201 million shares, or 10.4 percent, of HP stock.
The plunge in the stock's value already is being felt deeply within the Los Altos-based foundation: Last month, salary and hiring freezes were put in place. Next year's programs in science, conservation, population, arts and other focus areas are all facing budget cuts.
In 2000, some 1,300 grants were awarded for a total of $615 million. This year, the total will be more like $475 million, said George Vera, chief financial officer of the foundation.
Dec. 7, in addition to making budget recommendations for next year's grants, the board will consider reports from an independent financial adviser hired to evaluate the proposed merger. At that point, the board may decide whether to support the deal.
It's a huge decision, and a highly unusual one for a U.S. foundation. So who are these people behind the vote and what factors will they consider as they weigh their decision?
"I think the key factor is what will be best for HP -- not just in the short run, but the long run," said board member Colburn Wilbur, who is also the foundation's former executive director.
"A whole bunch of things fall into that. The health of the foundation currently depends a lot on what happens to HP," he said. "If it prospers and does well, the value goes up and we have more money to give away and be more effective."
Board member William K. Reilly, a former administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, said the board is aware of the weight its vote will carry. HP Chief Executive Carly Fiorina personally met with board members to lobby for the deal.
"She had a long meeting with us and made the case with her CFO for the merger," Reilly said in an interview from Shanghai last week, where he was traveling on business. "I'm not sure where everybody on the board will come out. I'm not sure where I will come out."
Here are brief profiles of the board:
-- Nancy Packard Burnett, 58, has been on the board since she was 21. She is one of the four founders of the Monterey .....more at link....................... |
