Why don’t these rich guys hire “high class” pros, pay them with $100 bills, and introduce themselves as “Biff”? They would save a lot of money.
Maybe they all did and the thrill is gone compared to getting it on the side for free from an underling. Clearly at $33M/yr he could have afforded escorts at multiple times the level of an Eliot Spitzer.
Kidding aside, HP went whole hog for gender political correctness in the early '90s by agressively promoting women employees to increasingly higher management roles, perhaps regardless of whether it made any sense or not... culminating in the hiring of Carly Fiorina from outside the company as CEO in 1999 (IIRC). At about the same time, HP went in whole hog for both outsourcing and hiring contract temps. All of this contributed to the decline of the practice of the HP Way as traditionally envisioned by the founders.
So in a sense, Hurd was ultimately hoisted by his own petard (or at least the petard he chose to support-- he too is an import, from NCR in 2001).
According to wikipedia, Hurd is a graduate of Baylor University, which is deep in bible belt Texas near Waco (current president: Ken Starr). I think one can almost bet that he is bracing for a big spanking by his social group.
From the bio that disappeared from the HP website:
Mark Hurd joined HP in early 2005 as chief executive officer and president and was named chairman of the board of directors in September 2006.
With the goal of establishing HP as the world’s leading technology company, Hurd has sharpened HP’s strategic focus and concentrated its investments on three long-term growth opportunities: next-generation enterprise data center architecture and services; technologies for always connected, always personal mobile experiences; and a broad transition from analog to digital imaging and printing across the consumer, commercial and industrial markets.
At the same time, Hurd has improved HP’s operating efficiency and execution as well as its financial performance and customer focus. The result has been increasing growth and profitability, greater value for shareholders and customers, and a stronger competitive position in global IT markets. Between the company’s 2004 and 2009 fiscal years, HP grew revenue from $80 billion to $114.6 billion and more than doubled its earnings per share.
Prior to joining HP, Hurd spent 25 years at NCR Corp., where he held a variety of management, operations, and sales and marketing roles. He was named chief operating officer in 2002 and chief executive officer in 2003. Under his leadership, NCR reignited growth in its core businesses and improved from a net loss of $2.25 per share in 2002 to net income of $3.03 in 2004.
Hurd is additionally a member of the News Corp. board of directors.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1979 from Baylor University.