After a surprising and scandalous fall from grace at HP, former CEO Mark Hurd will now assume the role of co-President at Oracle, according to the Wall Street Journal. Hurd was accused of sexual misbehavior at HP involving former HP contractor and softcore porn star Jodie Fisher. External investigation discovered no intimate or sexual relationship between the two, and Fisher backed up the finding herself, but some expense reports were discovered (related to dealings with Fisher) that were against company standards of business conduct.
While Hurd received a hefty severance package to the tune of 40-50 million dollars, according to Business Insider, many were outraged by the board’s seemingly asymmetric response to the allegations, and Oracle CEO Lawrence Ellison was one of the most vocal critics. He wrote an email to the New York Times.
“The H.P. board just made the worst personnel decision since the idiots on the Apple board fired Steve Jobs many years ago...that decision nearly destroyed Apple and would have if Steve hadn"t come back and saved them. In losing Mark Hurd, the H.P. board failed to act in the best interest of H.P."s employees, shareholders, customers and partners...The H.P. board admits that it fully investigated the sexual harassment claims against Mark and found them to be utterly false.”
Ellison has apparently put his money where his mouth is and swept up Hurd before anyone else could take him. In the role of co-president, he will have a seat on the board of directors, and will share the job with current co-president Safra Catz.