Hewlett-Packard Gets Humble About Their Conduct
Speaking to the press at Hewlett-Packard’s Palo Alto, Calif., headquarters, CEO Mark Hurd apologized for the company’s conduct in spying on board members and journalists, and outlined a series of actions the company was taking as various government inquiries into the affair gain steam. H-P Chairwoman Patricia Dunn, who initiated the investigation, will resign effective immediately, said Hurd. Earlier this month, H-P had said Dunn would resign in early 2007
Hurd provided a timeline of H-P’s leak investigation, which he said consisted of two distinct phases between 2005 and 2006, and his personal involvement. He said he attended a couple of meetings during which updates of the investigation were provided. Hurd also acknowledged that he approved an infamous email sent to a reporter at CNET that was embedded with spying technology. Hurd said he approved of the concept and content of the email, which was designed to appear as if it were from a disgruntled senior executive at H-P. But Hurd said he did not know about the tracing mechanism hidden within the message. After more than two weeks of being rocked by an incessant string of revelations about its controversial efforts to find leakers within the company, H-P sought to shift from defensive mode to offense and wrest some degree of control over the story.
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