Oracle gets Mark Hurd along with a legal action from Hp

Mark V. Hurd, the previous CEO of Hewlett Packard, resigned amid controversy over sexual harassment allegations concerning a former consultant, Jodie Fisher. Oracle took a chance on Hurd, not long after he left HP. You cannot just switch via one giant tech company to another, like Hurd is trying to. Hurd had to sign confidentiality agreements as part of his employment with HP. As a result, HP is suing Oracle for not legally hiring him. Among tech execs, Hurd is a god among men. Post resource – Oracle picks up Mark Hurd and a lawsuit from Hp by Personal Money Store.

Hurd and Hp didn’t part over the best terms

Mark Hurd was announced, as outlined by Reuters, as the newest addition to the executive team of Oracle Corp. Charlie Phillips resigned as co-president, and Hurd can be taking that spot along with a position on the board of directors. Oracle is a heavyweight within the software and tech world. More software is only sold by Microsoft and IBM. Hp had a high profile bidding war for 3COM with Dell, and Oracle became a direct competitor at the start of the year, when Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems. Jodie Fisher used to be a consultant for Hp, and her allegations of sexual harassment towards Hurd led to his resigning from HP.

Legal action brought by Hp against Oracle

Oracle made a bold move by acquiring Sun Microsystems. It made the company a competitor of Hp. Hurd is contractually bound, according to the New York Times, by discretion contracts, which may make him legally un-hirable by any competitor of Hewlett Packard, including Oracle. During Hurd’s time at Hp, the company did a 180 and became far more profitable. Hurd was directly responsible for aggressive efficiency improvements for his former employer. Even Oracle knows that. The CEO of Oracle, Lawrence Ellison, compared the departure of Hurd from HP to when Steve Jobs was at first fired by Apple.

There may be a conflict of interest

Hp inside information is certainly known to Hurd, as he was an executive. You will find generally discretion clauses in executive contracts. It is unknown how far this lawsuit will go, but it might be worth it as Hurd has a track record of making a lot of cash.

More on this topic

Reuters

reuters.com/article/idUSN0724548420100907

NY Times

nytimes.com/2010/09/08/technology/08hewlett.html?src=busln