Dunn has agreed to resign as chair in January after board
meetings at the computer maker which took place over two days. She
had previously insisted that she would only resign as chair if the
board asked her to.
In a hunt for the source of press leaks Dunn authorised the use
of private investigators. They then hired another firm which
pretended to be board members, tricking phone providers into giving
them access to personal phone call records.
When the actions became known in spring, venture capitalist Tom
Perkins, a board member and friend of deceased company founders
Bill Hewlett and David Packard, immediately resigned. The source of
the leaks was identified as board member George Keyworth.
Dunn offered a qualified apology for her role in authorising the
investigations in a statement. "The investigation, which was
conducted with third parties, included certain inappropriate
techniques. These went beyond what we understood them to be, and I
apologize that they were employed," she said.
"I am taking action to ensure that inappropriate investigative
techniques will not be employed again. They have no place in HP,"
said Mark Hurd, who is already chief executive and president of the
firm and will take over as chair in January.
When news of the tactics became public last week, Dunn's and the
investigators' actions became the focus of attention of the Justice
Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the attorney
general in California, where HP is headquartered. That attorney
general said that criminal charges may result from his
investigations.
HP's shares rose slightly, by 20 cents to $36.56, on the
news.
