HP CEO Hurd awarded bonus of $8.6 million in 2006
Hewlett-Packard Co. said Tuesday that Chief Executive Mark Hurd received an $8.6-million bonus in 2006, a year of strong performance but one plagued by scandal over its shady boardroom spying antics.
In its proxy filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, HP said Hurd received the bonus on top of his $1.4-million base salary for his strong leadership in helping the company grow and become more efficient.
The computer and printer maker surged past IBM Corp. last year to become the world’s largest technology company.
HP’s stock price has risen 95% since Hurd became CEO in April 2005, creating an additional $52 billion in shareholder wealth. HP’s stock rose 29 cents on Tuesday to $42.31.
In fiscal-year 2006, HP cracked $90 billion in annual revenue for the first time in the company’s history. Its $91.7 billion in revenue was slightly more than IBM’s $91.4 billion.
Also Tuesday, Hewlett-Packard said it would require directors in uncontested elections to win a majority of shareholders’ votes to remain on the board.
Directors who receive more negative than affirmative votes in an uncontested shareholder election will have to resign, the Palo Alto company said Tuesday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In contested elections, the nominee who garners the most affirmative votes wins.
Hewlett-Packard joins Citigroup Inc. and dozens of other U.S. companies that have made it easier for investors to unseat directors amid pressure from shareholders.
In the last six weeks, more than 25 companies have changed to requiring majority voting or plan to do so, according to Institutional Shareholder Services, a Rockville, Md., consulting firm.
Before the push for majority votes, directors at U.S. companies generally were elected if they received a single positive vote. There was no way to vote against incumbents.
Representatives of Hewlett-Packard, which said it made the change to its corporate bylaws Thursday, didn’t immediately return phone calls.
