Happy Ending For HP's Patricia Dunn

Cooler heads prevailed in the HP spying scandal: All charges against former Chairman Patricia Dunn were dismissed, and the charges against the other defendants were knocked down to a single misdemeanor apiece (and in September, even those charges will disappear).

This is as it should be.  The HP scandal was a major embarrassment for the company, one that showed myopia and poor judgement on the part of Dunn and others.  But there's a big difference between a bad business decision and a crime, and Dunn, at least, should never have been charged with the latter (let alone multiple felonies).

Even as she breathes a sigh of relief, of course, Dunn will presumably be asking the same question that many executives savaged by an emotional rush to judgment have asked: "Now, where do I go to get my reputation back?"

Comments

[wowdude]

How utterly shocking that someone who (Henry, this means you) was facing massive criminal and civil charges, but somehow managed to escape with only a slap on the wrist and a lifetime ban from the industry, would side with another corporate criminal who managed to squeak away from an scandalous incident without jail time?

[JB]

Henry -- What I always wondered was that why wasn't there more scrutiny on a board member, who has a fiduciary duty to the company, leaking info to the press? How can a board properly do its job if someone on the team is giving out confidential info? I don't condone spying, but I think the real problem is that the board member(s) - Keyworth and Perkins - had their own agendas and wanted to get some press. Like I said, I don't condone pre-texting, etc., but I have a problem with a board member violating the confidentiality of a board meeting.

[Henry Blodget]

Agreed, JB. I was shocked at the free pass given by nearly all observers to the leakers. At most companies, leaking confidential info to the press is a fire-able offense (and should be). Which also isn't to condone the pre-texting...

Re the previous comment, my regulatory experience, thankfully, was civil, not criminal. Which isn't to say it wasn't a nightmare.

[JB]

Unfortunately to the last sentence in your post, Patricia Dunn has bigger concerns - fighting cancer - to deal with. This whole thing just shows you how the justice system can be abused. Fortunately Patricia Dunn had the benefit of top legal representation, but think of how many people do not and can be the victim of an overzealous prosecutor.

[fasdf]

In the New York Times today, there's an article on Institutional Review Boards (the board that handles human subjects issues for academic institutions). I'm definitely amongst the people who constantly bitch about the absurdity of IRBs (even if their intentions are good) and this article discusses my frustration in much more polite terms than i ever could. 糖尿病 糖尿病症状 糖尿病饮食 糖尿病治疗