BUSINESS | AUGUST 7, 2010, 8:53 P.M. ET.
Hurd Camp Challenges Some Claims
By BEN WORTHEN
The day after Mark Hurd's sudden resignation from Hewlett-Packard Co., a person familiar with his version of events disputed some of the claims of wrongdoing that have been made against the former chief executive.
This person called into question details of the meetings between Mr. Hurd and an H-P marketing contractor who later said the CEO had sexually harassed her. The revelation, which Mr. Hurd and the company learned of in late June, kicked off an investigation by H-P's board. The investigation cleared Mr. Hurd of harassment, but found that he misstated his expenses in violation the company's code of business conduct. The contractor hasn't been identified.
But on Saturday, the person familiar with Mr. Hurd's version of events said that both trips were scheduled for purposes other than meeting the contractor. In the case of the Los-Angeles meeting, Mr. Hurd was on his way home from San Diego and had a different meeting scheduled in the Los-Angeles area, this person said. The contractor was scheduled to meet one of Mr. Hurd's assistants, and the former CEO only attended because his original meeting was canceled, said this person.
On Friday, H-P announced Mr. Hurd had resigned at the behest of the board. H-P's share price fell more than 8% in after-hours trading after the announcement.
Cathie Lesjak, H-P's chief financial officer, was appointed interim CEO until a permanent replacement for Mr. Hurd is found. In an all-hands memo to H-P staffers on Friday, Ms. Lesjak urged employees to remain "focused" and said "Mark had failed to disclose a close personal relationship he had with the contractor that constituted a conflict of interest, failed to maintain accurate expense reports, and misused company assets."
Also on Friday, a person familiar with H-P's investigation said it found that Mr. Hurd had traveled to Los Angeles to interview the contractor in August 2007, and that he flew to Denver to conduct a second interview the next month. The person said that it was unusual for a CEO to do this.
The person familiar with Mr. Hurd's account said Mr. Hurd traveled to Denver to attend a company event, where he also interviewed the contractor.
The person familiar with Mr. Hurd's version of events also disputed the Palo Alto, Calif., computer maker's claim that the contractor received compensation when there wasn't a legitimate purpose. This person was only aware of one instance where the contractor was paid for an event that didn't take place. In that case, the event was canceled at the last minute because Mr. Hurd was ill and the contractor's agreement with H-P required 30 days cancellation notice, said this person.
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