HP CEO quits after harassment claim
The top executive of Hewlett-Packard Co., which operates Enterprise Services in Plano, resigned Friday in the wake of a sexual harassment claim against him and the company.
Mark Hurd, who was chairman, president and CEO of the California technology giant, is being replaced on an interim basis by Chief Financial Officer Cathie Lesjak, 51. Lesjak will retain her CFO duties while a search is done, HP said in a news release.
Hurd quit following the harassment claim by an unnamed former contractor to HP. A probe by outside legal counsel and the company's general counsel office determined that HP's sexual harassment policy wasn't violated, but that its standards of business conduct were, the news release said.
The release quoted Hurd as saying that he "realized there were instances in which I did not live up to the standards and principles of trust, respect and integrity that I have espoused at HP and which have guided me throughout my career."
HP in 2008 acquired Plano's Electronic Data Systems for $13.9 billion. HP later changed the name of the former EDS operation to Enterprise Services.
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