Accentuating the caveat emptor perspective with critical commentary on financial disclosure. I adopt a skeptical persona and look for chinks in the teflon coating of financial disclosure. My job is to identify financial warts. Perhaps a Black Swan. Disclosure: I do not hold positions in stocks mentioned for three trading days before or after blog post.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Hewlett Packard Governance Woes
Hewlett Packard (NYSE:HP, Nasdaq:HP) wanted to remove George Keyworth from the board. He refused stating that he was elected by the shareholders. Now the company says they will not nominate him again at the next AGM. HP's beef with Keyworth is alleged media leaks during the Carly Fiorina era. Patricia Dunn, the current chairwomen, had electronically surveiled the phones of ten directors and subsequently is fingering Keyworth as the culprit. She claims to have legal advice that the surveillance was legal. HP is to file SEC documents on Wednesday Sep 6 with so called full disclosure. I am not sure how a company can conduct electronic surveillance on members of its own board. This also begs many governance questions as to what Boards can and may do when they are dissatisfied with the boss. If shareholders where to vote for Directors they should support those who best represented shareholder interests. Look for better explanations as to why Thomas Perkins resigned during this time. Previous SEC filings made no mention of specific reasons. Was Thomas Perkins gagged? In the meantime HP makes good gear