HP chairwoman to step down (Xinhua) Updated: 2006-09-14 09:21 Hewlett-Packard Co. Chairwoman Patricia Dunn will
step down in January due to her involvement in an espionage scandal that has
sparked legal investigations, the computer maker said on Tuesday.
HP Board Chairman Patricia Dunn
is under fire. | Mark Hurd, the company's chief
executive officer and president, will succeed Dunn and retain his existing
positions. Dunn will continue to serve as a director.
Richard Hackborn, who has served on the board since 1992, has been designated
lead independent director, effective in January, according to the company.
Dunn has been under fire for authorizing an investigation of company
directors who allegedly leaked board deliberations.
The California-based Hewlett-Packard, the world's second largest maker of
personal computers, hired investigators in mid-2005 to determine the source of
the leakage. The investigators were said to have used fake identities to obtain
the phone records of directors and nine journalists.
"Unfortunately, the investigation, which was conducted with third parties,
included certain inappropriate techniques. These went beyond what we understood
them to be, and I apologize that they were employed," Dunn said in a statement
"I am taking action to ensure that inappropriate investigative techniques
will not be employed again. They have no place in HP," Hurd
said. (For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)
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