HP’s Hurd latest to fall foul of ‘fairer’ sex

Dogged by controversies over their personal relationships,many top corporate executives worldwide have made hasty exit in recent years.

Dogged by controversies over their personal relationships,many top corporate executives worldwide have made hasty exit in recent years and quitting of Mark Hurd as Hewlett-Packard CEO is just the latest instance.

More often,allegations of sexual harassment have claimed the posts of top executives. In the last few months,problems related to a personal relationship saw high profile India-born publisher David Davidar being forced to leave Penguin International as its CEO.

Hurd,who engineered a makeover at HP,stepped down on Friday following claims of sexual harassment as well as a probe finding that the 53-year-old chief indulged in unethical business practices.

A former female contractor of the company had levelled sexual harassment allegations against Hurd,who was also HP’s chairman and president.

“As the investigation progressed,I realised there were instances in which I did not live up to the standards and principles of trust,respect and integrity…,” Hurd said in a statement on Friday.

Similarly,a sexual harassment suit slapped by a former woman colleague saw the departure of Davidar from Penguin in June.

In a statement then,Davidar had said that “at Penguin’s request,I agreed to publicly state that my departure was voluntary. The truth is that a former colleague accused me of sexual harassment and Penguin terminated my employment”.

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Way back in 2007,oil major BP Plc’s then CEO Lord Browne stepped down in the wake of his homosexual relationship becoming public. He had quit the British entity in May 2007.

The same year,Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide’s CEO Steve Heyer left the hotel and leisure chain amid reports of sexual harassment. He quit the company in April 2007 after serving as the chief for nearly three years.