The Wall Street Journal’s Alan Murray reports in this article ($) (related NYT article here and Newsweek article here) about the internal investigation that ensued of the Hewlett-Packard board of directors after former HP CEO Carly Fiorina (previous posts here) was forced out early last year. The subject of the investigation was the leaking of confidential information to a Wall Street Journal reporter regarding board deliberations and ultimately led to the resignation of one board member — venture capitalist Tom Perkins — and the board’s decision not to nominate a second board member — George Keyworth, the alleged leaker — for another term on the company’s board.
The article is interesting and all, and certainly maintaining the confidentiality of board deliberations is important. However, if I were an HP investor, I would feel a whole lot better about the company if I was not left with the impression that the company’s board members behaved in a manner not quite as mature as my 16 year-old daughter’s social circle of friends.
Update: Professor Bainbridge predicts that HP’s directors are not going to react kindly in regard to the way in which the HP board chairperson handled the investigation, and Larry Ribstein is about as impressed with the HP’s corporate governance as I am.