As if the company has some sort of scandal-plagued-executive quota written into its bylaws, Oracle has replaced former co-chairman Charles Phillips — who officially resigned Monday after facing a scandal publicized via billboard — with former Hewlett-Packard chairman and CEO Mark Hurd. Hurd, of course, left HP a month ago after an investigation into sexual-harassment charges made by a contractor (and reality-TV alum). Hurd will join Lawrence J. Ellison as co-president of the HP competitor, and Ellison, who is a “personal friend” of Hurd’s, seems pretty jazzed about it: “Mark did a brilliant job at HP, and I expect he’ll do even better at Oracle,” Ellison said in a statement. “There is no executive in the I.T. world with more relevant experience than Mark.”
Amusingly, even the Times, in its own awkward way, can’t restrain itself from reveling in the tabloid-y drama of these machinations, calling the recent developments “a true soap opera, filled with fierce business dealings and saucy relationships.” Saucy, indeed.
Hurd Joins Oracle as Co-President [NYT]
Update: HP has announced it’s suing Mark Hurd to block his move to Oracle. Knowing that non-compete agreements, which Hurd signed, rarely hold up in Calfiornia courts, HP is instead citing concerns about Hurd leaking trade secrets and confidential information to Oracle, a rival company. Here is the full text of the complaint. [Techcrunch]
