HP's elder statesman likely to have played key role in ousting

Mr Dick Hackborn, the HP director and former executive responsible for creating the company's hugely successful printing business, probably played a key role in the behind-the-scenes manoeuvrings that led up to Ms Carly Fiorina's removal, according to close observers of the company.

Mr Hackborn was instrumental in the departure of HP's last chief executive, Mr Lew Platt, who was pushed aside to make room for Ms Fiorina.

With close personal ties to the company's management and founding families, and a reputation as HP's elder statesman, Mr Hackborn's soundings of management helped to cement the board's decision in 1999 that new leadership was needed.

While Mr Hackborn had been one of Ms Fiorina's strongest allies on the board, similar soundings of her senior management team were made in recent months as the board became increasingly concerned about the company's missteps, according to one person familiar with the process.

Along with Mr Larry Babbio, vice-chairman of Verizon and an ardent supporter of Ms Fiorina, Mr Hackborn's support was seen as key to her position.

Other boardroom moves have also served to weaken Ms Fiorina's position. Mr Sam Ginn, who had led the search committee when she was hired and had been one of her staunchest supporters, left the board a year ago, along with Mr Phil Condit, the former Boeing chairman who had also been a supporter.

Mr Ginn and Mr Condit had also steered the board's nominating and governance committee, a key inner group with influence over the composition and workings of the board.

That has left Ms Fiorina with less boardroom backing as control has slipped into the hands of her opponents. According to source, these included Ms Patricia Dunn, vice-chairman of Barclay's Global Investors, who was put forward to explain the board's decision publicly yesterday. Recent signs pointed to a more rapid shift in the balance of power in the boardroom that finally stripped Ms Fiorina of support. Mr Sandy Litvack, who as a former general counsel of Walt Disney had shown strident public support for embattled CEOs in the past, quit unexpectedly as an HP director at the start of this month - just weeks before he was due to retire.

Then on Monday, the day before Ms Fiorina was dismissed, Mr Tom Perkins, a former Compaq director and one of Silicon Valley's most eminent venture capitalists, rejoined the HP board a year after retiring allegedly for age reasons.

As power shifted away from Ms Fiorina, boardroom concerns about HP's erratic performance and the loss of key executives finally came to a head. While Ms Dunn said that the deliberations that led up to yesterday's decision had taken place over a number of weeks, Ms Fiorina's position seems to have been weakening for considerably longer. - Financial Times Service