Mark Hurd may have tipped off formercontractor Jodie Fisher about Hewlett-Packard’s pending US$13.9 billionEDS acquisition, according to a report in the Wall Street JournalFriday.
Fisher made the allegation in the same letter she sent to Hurd accusinghim of sexual harassment, the Journal reported, citing unnamed sources.That accusation, and a subsequent investigation by HP, led to Hurd’sresignation from the company.
HP disclosed the claim of sexual harassment but has never said Hurd wasaccused of sharing inside information about its acquisition plans withher. Fisher, who is also an actress, worked as a marketing contractorfor HP prior to the accusations.
A spokesman for Hurd didn’t immediately return a call seeking commentFriday. The spokesman told the Journal the allegations have nosubstance. “Mark is a very experienced CEO; he knows what he can andcan’t say” with regard to inside information, the spokesman told theJournal.
An HP spokesman said the company declined to comment. Fisher and herlawyer also declined to comment, according to the Journal.
Fisher claimed in the letter that Hurd told her about HP’s plans to buyEDS at an HP event in Madrid in March 2008, a source told the Journal.HP announced its plan to buy EDS two months later.
The Journal also reported that Fisher sent a follow-up letter to Hurd,after the two had reached a settlement, in which she said her earliercomplaint had contained “many inaccuracies.”
HP investigated Fisher’s harassment claim and concluded Hurd had notviolated its policy in that regard, but it said he did fall foul of itsstandards of business conduct.
Soon after he left HP, Hurd was hired by Oracle as one of itsco-presidents alongside Safra Catz, replacing Charles Phillips, who leftOracle to be CEO of Infor. An Oracle spokeswoman also declined tocomment on the Journal report.