The only thing remotely notable about Hewlett-Packard’s annual shareholder meeting earlier this week was that nothing unusual happened. Never mind the past year of scandal over boardroom ethics, the meeting was business-as-usual.
There were the usual crowds of retirees who admitted coming only for the free coffee and cookies, the softball questions and comments to management related to a job well done (boardroom spying scandal aside, last year was a very good year for HP investors) and a handful of gadflies raising objections to some little-known HP practice, like its placement of advertisements on racy television shows.
The event did draw a large crowd of journalists, many seeking some color or hoping for someone to express outrage or initiate a lively debate on the reform needed at the top of the company, but nothing like that happened. CEO Mark Hurd referred to the events of the past year in passing, as something that “no one is proud of,” but then made clear that those events would not be discussed further.
No one objected.
In fact, the two resolutions for change that were drafted in response to last year’s board spying scandal — one to allow shareholders to nominate people to the board, the other to separate the role of chairman and CEO — were both defeated. The meeting concluded with shareholders crowding into the refreshment room.
Like HP’s share price of late, the mood was buoyant.—Andrea Orr
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