Hewlett-Packard’s crisis management team has been hard at work this week following the sudden resignation of CEO Mark Hurd. Leaving after revelations of an inappropriate relationship and improper use of company funds, the formerly revered Hurd will float out on a $12 million dollar golden parachute loaded with hundreds of shares of HP stock. BusinessWeek has more details:
The departure leaves Hewlett-Packard, the world’s biggest maker of personal computers and printers, in search of a new CEO and chairman after more than five years under Hurd. On his watch, the Palo Alto, California-based company regained leadership in the PC market from Dell Inc. and used acquisitions to expand into new areas, such as computer services. The company’s stock-market value increased $44.6 billion, rising to $108.1 billion, since Hurd took the helm on April 1, 2005.
“Clearly he’s been a significant leader and visionary in restructuring the company,” said Jeffrey Fidacaro, an analyst at Susquehanna Financial Group in New York. “It’s going to be a significant loss to the company in terms of operations.”
Hewlett-Packard fell $4.31 to $41.99 in extended trading. The shares, down 10 percent this year, dropped 5 cents to $46.30 earlier today on the New York Stock Exchange.
While HP was successful in mitigating reputation damage by distancing themselves from Hurd, their struggle now is to convince stakeholders that the loss of the man who masterminded its recovery and nearly doubled its stock value will not hurt future performance.
The BCM Blogging Team
https://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/