Last Friday, HP CEO Mark Hurd resigned amidst sexual harassment allegations that his former employer chose to make public. Monday, in a letter to the New York Times, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison did not mince words about his thoughts on the forced resignation of Mr. Hurd. “The H.P. board just made the worst personnel decision since the idiots on the Apple board fired Steve Jobs many years ago. [...] In losing Mark Hurd, the H.P. board failed to act in the best interest of H.P.’s employees, shareholders, customers and partners. The H.P. board admits that it fully investigated the sexual harassment claims against Mark and found them to be utterly false.” Ellison went on to say, “publishing known false sexual harassment claims is not good corporate governance; it’s cowardly corporate political correctness.” Hurd, who had been with HP for five years, is set to receive a severance package of cash and stock worth an estimated $28 million. At least he won’t go away empty handed?
