New York, NY -- Despite a long, legal battle, Mark Hurd was not victorious in his efforts to have a letter describing his relationship with Jodie Fisher suppressed from public view. For anyone not familiar with the saga, this was one of the items that ultimately led to his resignation as president and CEO of HP in 2010.
The letter lays out the relationship between Fisher and Hurd in great detail. It was sent to Mr. Hurd in June 2010, two months prior to his resignation and provided the company enough information that an internal investigation commenced. Details of a relationship between the two from 2007 and 2009 are laid out and show that the then CEO actively sought to have a sexual relationshiop with Ms. Fisher. HP on their behalf released emails between Fisher and Hurd which present some differences in the two accounts.
Interestingly enough, Fisher after consideration, recanted the letter her attorney Gloria Allred produced, citing “‘many inaccuracies’” before Hurd and HP had agreed on settlement terms. She endorsed Hurd’s attempt to keep the letter private. However, it was a shareholder’s (Ernesto Espinoza) lawsuit filed against HP in order “‘to investigate corporate wrongdoing and waste associated with the relationship’” which made it possible for the New York Times (NYT) to obtain the documents in question.
Hurd may not be out of legal hot water yet, as he reportedly boasted to Fisher about details regarding the deal that HP agreed to with Electronic Data Systems (EDS) before the purchase occurred in 2008. The SEC spokeswoman declined to comment on whether the SEC would be investigating.
One could accurately describe the last several months for HP as tumultuous with the failure of Hurd’s replacement Leo Apotheker as well as the more recent printer fire allegations. Hopefully for HP’s sake 2012 will be better with CEO Meg Whitman moving forward in her tenure and developing the company her way.
