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bayarea.com
HP report author resigns amid law degree dispute
Ram Kumar, author of an influential report that helped persuade large shareholders to support Hewlett-Packard's proposed purchase of Compaq Computer, has resigned from his firm because of a dispute over the credentials he presented to his employer.
Kumar had told Institutional Shareholder Services, a Rockville, Md.-based shareholder services company, that he was a graduate of the University of Southern California's law school, but ISS said it recently discovered that he dropped out without obtaining his degree.
``There was a story in Smart Money magazine that said he was a law school drop-out, and we went to him and it turned out that it was correct,'' said Pat McGurn, a vice president at ISS. ``We gave Ram the option of resigning. . . . We didn't have any choice. Above all things, we have to have integrity and trust in our employees.''
Kumar, 33, did not return calls seeking comment. Kumar was the lead author on a key report issued by ISS in March to its mutual-fund and pension-fund clients recommending that they vote in favor of HP's hotly contested purchase of Compaq.
The report gave HP a major boost in its proxy fight with dissident shareholder and former board member Walter Hewlett, who opposed the deal. HP won shareholder approval for the deal by a 2.8 percent margin.</P> |
