Mark V. Hurd, the former CEO of Hewlett Packard, resigned amid controversy over sexual harassment allegations concerning a former consultant, Jodie Fisher. After leaving Hp, he was just lately hired by Oracle as part of the executive team of that company. Hurd is the brand new co-president of Oracle. Nevertheless, it isn’t easy to jump from one huge tech business to one more. Hurd had to sign confidentiality agreements as part of his employment with HP. As a result, HP is suing Oracle for not legally hiring him. Hurd is a giant among men within the tech industry.
Hurd and Hewlett Packard did not part on the greatest conditions
As outlined by Reuters, Oracle Corp. just announced a new hire. That would be Mark Hurd. . Oracle is one of the largest computer technology corporations in the world, behind only Microsoft and IBM in sales of software. Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems earlier this year, placing the company in direct competition with Hp. Hewlett Packard had a high profile bidding war with Dell for 3COM. Jodie Fisher used to be a consultant for Hp, and her allegations of sexual harassment against Hurd led to his resigning via HP.
Hp suing Oracle foreseen by discretion agreements
Oracle made a bold move by acquiring Sun Microsystems. It made the business a competitor of Hp. HP filed a suit, according to the NY Times, because Hurd has inside knowledge of Hewlett Packard and could not be legally hired, as it would violate confidentiality agreements he signed as part of his employment. Hurd was known as a significant player in the tech field during his tenure at Hewlett Packard. Hp became far more efficient under Hurd’s stewardship, and became a success story in the past five years. Even Oracle knows that. The CEO of Oracle, Lawrence Ellison, compared the departure of Hurd from HP to when Steve Jobs was initially fired by Apple.
Competing interests
Hp inside information is certainly known to Hurd, as he was an executive. This isn’t unexpected. There is a reason why executives are often made to sign contracts which consist of non-compete and discretion clauses. There is no guarantee the lawsuit will go really far. That said, it can be worth it in the end, as Hurd has a reputation for making an awful lot of cash.
Further reading
Reuters
reuters.com/article/idUSN0724548420100907
NY Times
nytimes.com/2010/09/08/technology/08hewlett.html?src=busln
