惠普拆分的利弊与潜在风险

    惠普拆分后的两家新公司，可能仍无法具备现任CEO梅格•惠特曼所希望的灵敏性，或者我们所期待的更人性化的管理方式。但此次拆分意味着惠普正在朝着正确的方向前进。

    尽管如此，两家新公司的治理结构方案却非常荒谬。现任惠普首席董事陆思博被任命为惠普企业公司董事长，该公司将专注从事服务器、存储与网络业务。惠特曼将担任惠普企业公司的CEO。而在令惠普损失惨重的Autonomy收购案中，陆思博与惠特曼作为董事会成员，均需要对当初的收购决定负责。当时，董事会的决定曾遭到惠普CFO（首席财务官）凯西•莱斯杰克的反对。惠普宣布，莱斯杰克将担任惠普企业公司的CFO。

    除了担任惠普企业公司的CEO外，惠特曼还将出任拆分后的新惠普公司董事长，该公司将专注从事个人电脑与打印机业务。这一决定毫无意义。让老上司盯着新任CEO（迪昂•维斯勒将出任新惠普公司的CEO），没有任何好处。难道新成立的惠普企业公司还不足以让惠特曼忙得不可开交吗？

    此次拆分带来了许多问题。惠普最近同意实施“代理参与”(proxy access)，即允许股东提名将参与公司投票的董事人选。如今，“代理参与”能否应用于两家新公司？

    惠特曼的薪酬是否会有所变化？她目前的薪酬是否会由维斯勒与惠特曼平分？毕竟，现在的惠普将分成两个人管理。公司的新薪酬计划是否会让惠特曼从公司股票的短期上涨中获益，即使她并未创造出自己所承诺的长期价值？或者，薪酬计划将要求两位CEO对长期成果负责？

    如果董事会能够解决公司的治理缺陷和潜在的失误，此次拆分将给惠普带来积极效果。从惠特曼手中剥离一半业务，从深层意义上而言，也可能意味着董事会对她的长期信心不足。如果是这样，未来公司必将有更多变化。

    本文作者爱丽诺•布洛斯罕是独立董事会培训咨询机构价值联盟和公司治理联盟（The Value Alliance and Corporate Governance Alliance）的首席执行官。她于1999年创办该机构。她从2010年10月起成为《财富》杂志定期供稿人，并著有两本有关价值评估与治理的著作。（财富中文网）

    译者：刘进龙/汪皓

    The two new companies HP HPQ 1.99% is creating may still elude the nimbleness current HP CEO Meg Whitman hopes for, or a more humane approach to management that we all desire. But HP is moving in the right direction with the split.

    With that said, the proposed governance structure for the two new firms is absurd. Pat Russo, currently HP’s lead director, is slated to be chair of the new Hewlett-Packard Enterprises, a servers, storage, and networking firm. Both Russo and Whitman, who will be CEO of Hewlett-Packard Enterprises, were responsible as board members for the disastrous Autonomy purchase decision, a move that the board made over the objection of HP CFO Cathy Lesjak. HP announced that Lesjak will become CFO of the new enterprise firm.

    In addition to her CEO role at Hewlett-Packard Enterprises, Whitman will also be chair of the new HP Inc., a personal computer and printers company. This move makes little sense. It is never good to have the old boss hovering over the new CEO, who in this case will be Dion Weisler. Won’t Whitman have her hands full at the new enterprise company anyway?

    The split raises many questions. HP had recently agreed to proxy access, which would allow shareholders to propose board nominees that would be included on the company’s ballot. Will proxy access now apply to both of the new companies?

    What will happen to the size of Whitman’s paycheck? Will her current pay be split between Weisler and Whitman since, jointly, they will be managing what is now HP? Will we see new compensation plans that will allow Whitman to take advantage of short-term pops to the company’s stock even if she doesn’t create the long-term value she has promised for some time? Or will the pay checks hold both CEOs accountable for long-term results?

    The split could be a real positive for HP if the board addresses the company’s governance flaws and potential missteps. Stripping half of HP from Whitman could also signal that, behind the scenes, the board lacks long-term confidence in her. In that case, there may be many more changes ahead.

    Eleanor Bloxham is CEO of The Value Alliance and Corporate Governance Alliance (http://www.thevaluealliance.com), an independent board education and advisory firm she founded in 1999. She has been a regular contributor to Fortune since April 2010 and is the author of two books on valuation and governance.