惠普：抵住诱惑,梅格•惠特曼不宜兼任董事会主席

    上周二，惠普公司（HP）宣布，董事会临时主席拉尔夫•惠特沃斯突然辞职，从周三起生效。此外，在其联合创建的Relational Investors公司，这位激进投资者也因健康原因开始休假。

    对于惠普CEO梅格•惠特曼来说，这绝非好消息。惠特曼于2011年1月加入惠普董事会，并在同年九月份出任惠普CEO。2012年11月，惠普收购英国软件公司Autonomy的交易巨亏90亿美元，而且，外界对于惠特曼上台之后惠普的业务模式和战略也一直存在担忧。尽管如此，惠特曼担任惠普CEO的时间，已经远远超过了其前任李艾科（李艾科担任CEO不足一年。）

    而她之所以能够幸存下来，很大程度上得益于惠特沃斯显而易见的耐心和支持。惠特沃斯于2011年11月加入惠普公司董事会，次年4月成为临时主席。股东对惠特沃斯的尊敬，给惠特曼带来了极大的帮助，他的存在以及他的乐观精神，让惠普股东消除了有关公司发展的疑虑，并稳定了股东情绪。在宣布惠特沃斯辞职的新闻发布会上，从发言中可以明显感受到CEO与董事会主席之间的相互尊重。

    原彭尼百货公司（J.C. Penney）CEO罗恩•约翰逊肯定希望自己能有惠特曼的好运。彭尼百货公司董事会成员、激进投资者比尔•阿克曼，推荐前苹果公司（Apple）高管约翰逊执掌公司。但不到两年之后，约翰逊便被逐出门外。因为，董事会已经失去了耐心。

    美国公司董事联合会（National Association of Corporate Directors）创始人兼荣誉主席约翰•M•纳什表示：“对于惠普公司的治理，拉尔夫是一项宝贵的资产。”惠特沃斯担任美国股东协会（United Shareholders Association）主席时，曾就公司治理问题在电视上与纳什展开激辩。纳什表示：“我们会求同存异，始终尊重彼此的意见。”（披露：纳什在我在同一家公司工作。）

    惠普最近的股东投票材料中描述了公司在惠特曼领导下取得的部分成就。在特定情况下，某些公司允许在公司官方投票材料中提名股东为董事，惠普是其中一家。2013年7月，公司新聘请了三位董事。惠特沃斯任职期间，惠普董事会加大了与股东的联系。

    为了恢复在公司治理方面的形象，惠普要做很多事情。如今，惠普不再是公司董事会团体里的笑柄。

    没有惠特沃斯，惠普董事会很难继续保持有效运行。2013年4月，惠特沃斯被任命为临时主席时，我曾写道：“惠特沃斯承诺，董事会将在现有成员之外招聘一位主席。”2013年7月，有三位新董事加入董事会。但没有人像惠特沃斯一样，具备公司治理方面的经验，也没有人能为CEO惠特曼提供庇护，使其免受股东们的责难。2014年2月，惠普董事会表示仍在寻找一位合适的主席人选。

    On Tuesday, HP announced the sudden resignation of interim board chair Ralph Whitworth effective Wednesday. The activist investor is also taking a leave of absence from the company he co-founded, Relational Investors, for health reasons.

    This is not good news for CEO Meg Whitman, who joined HP’s HPQ -1.12% board in January 2011 and became CEO that same year in September. Despite the nearly $9 billion write-down of HP’s Autonomy purchase in November 2012 and lingering concerns about HP’s business model and strategy on her watch, Whitman has survived atop HP much longer than her predecessor Leo Apotheker did. (He served less than a full year.)

    Her survival has been aided in large part by Whitworth’s evident patience and support since he joined the board in November 2011 and then became interim chair in April of last year. Whitman has benefited from the respect other shareholders have for Whitworth—and his presence and optimism have reassured HP shareholders about the company’s course, keeping them at bay. The mutual respect between the CEO and chair was evident in their statements in the tech giant’s press release announcing Whitworth’s departure.

    Former J.C. Penney JCP -1.61% CEO Ron Johnson likely wishes he’d had Whitman’s situation. In his case, shareholder activist Bill Ackman, who served on the J.C. Penney board, had recommended the former Apple executive for the top spot at the retailer. But Johnson was out the door in less than two years. Patience had run out.

    “Ralph was a big asset to corporate governance at HP,” says John M. Nash, founder and president emeritus of the National Association of Corporate Directors. When Whitworth was president of the United Shareholders Association, Nash and Whitworth used to spar on TV about governance issues, Nash says. “We agreed to disagree and we always respected each others’ opinions,” Nash told me. (Full disclosure: Nash has worked with my company.)

    HP’s latest voting materials described some of the firm’s accomplishments during Whitworth’s tenure. The company was one of the first to allow shareholder nominated directors, under certain conditions, to be included in the company’s official voting materials. In July 2013, the company hired three new directors. And the board expanded its outreach to shareholders on Whitworth’s watch.

    HP had a lot to do to rehabilitate its governance image. Today, HP is no longer the laughing stock it once was in the corporate director community.

    It will be difficult for HP’s board to continue effectively in Whitworth’s absence. When Whitworth was appointed as interim chair in April 2013, I wrote that, “Whitworth has pledged that the board will recruit a chair presumably outside the ranks of existing members.” In July 2013, three new directors joined the board. But none have governance running through their veins, like Whitworth has, and none would provide the shield from shareholders that CEO Whitman has enjoyed. As of February 2014, the board reported that it was still searching for a suitable chair candidate.