抵住誘惑 梅格·惠特曼不宜兼任董事會主席

On Tuesday, HP announced the sudden resignation of interim board chair Ralph Whitworth effective Wednesday. The activist investor is also taking a leave of absence from the company he co-founded, Relational Investors, for health reasons.

上週二，惠普公司（HP）宣佈，董事會臨時主席拉爾夫o惠特沃斯突然辭職，從週三起生效。此外，在其聯合創建的Relational Investors公司，這位激進投資者也因健康原因開始休假。

This is not good news for CEO Meg Whitman, who joined HP’s HPQ -1.12% board in January 2011 and became CEO that same year in September. Despite the nearly $9 billion write-down of HP’s Autonomy purchase in November 2012 and lingering concerns about HP’s business model and strategy on her watch, Whitman has survived atop HP much longer than her predecessor Leo Apotheker did. (He served less than a full year.)

對於惠普CEO梅格o惠特曼來說，這絕非好消息。惠特曼於2011年1月加入惠普董事會，並在同年九月份出任惠普CEO。2012年11月，惠普收購英國軟件公司Autonomy的交易鉅虧90億美元，而且，外界對於惠特曼上臺之後惠普的業務模式和戰略也一直存在擔憂。儘管如此，惠特曼擔任惠普CEO的時間，已經遠遠超過了其前任李艾科（李艾科擔任CEO不足一年。）

Her survival has been aided in large part by Whitworth’s evident patience and support since he joined the board in November 2011 and then became interim chair in April of last year. Whitman has benefited from the respect other shareholders have for Whitworth—and his presence and optimism have reassured HP shareholders about the company’s course, keeping them at bay. The mutual respect between the CEO and chair was evident in their statements in the tech giant’s press release announcing Whitworth’s departure.

而她之所以能夠倖存下來，很大程度上得益於惠特沃斯顯而易見的耐心和支持。惠特沃斯於2011年11月加入惠普公司董事會，次年4月成爲臨時主席。股東對惠特沃斯的尊敬，給惠特曼帶來了極大的幫助，他的存在以及他的樂觀精神，讓惠普股東消除了有關公司發展的疑慮，並穩定了股東情緒。在宣佈惠特沃斯辭職的新聞發佈會上，從發言中可以明顯感受到CEO與董事會主席之間的相互尊重。

Former J.C. Penney JCP -1.61% CEO Ron Johnson likely wishes he’d had Whitman’s situation. In his case, shareholder activist Bill Ackman, who served on the J.C. Penney board, had recommended the former Apple executive for the top spot at the retailer. But Johnson was out the door in less than two years. Patience had run out.

原彭尼百貨公司（J.C. Penney）CEO羅恩o約翰遜肯定希望自己能有惠特曼的好運。彭尼百貨公司董事會成員、激進投資者比爾o阿克曼，推薦前蘋果公司（Apple）高管約翰遜執掌公司。但不到兩年之後，約翰遜便被逐出門外。因爲，董事會已經失去了耐心。

“Ralph was a big asset to corporate governance at HP,” says John M. Nash, founder and president emeritus of the National Association of Corporate Directors. When Whitworth was president of the United Shareholders Association, Nash and Whitworth used to spar on TV about governance issues, Nash says. “We agreed to disagree and we always respected each others’ opinions,” Nash told me. (Full disclosure: Nash has worked with my company.)

美國公司董事聯合會（National Association of Corporate Directors）創始人兼榮譽主席約翰oMo納什表示：“對於惠普公司的治理，拉爾夫是一項寶貴的資產。”惠特沃斯擔任美國股東協會（United Shareholders Association）主席時，曾就公司治理問題在電視上與納什展開激辯。納什表示：“我們會求同存異，始終尊重彼此的意見。”（披露：納什在我在同一家公司工作。）

HP’s latest voting materials described some of the firm’s accomplishments during Whitworth’s tenure. The company was one of the first to allow shareholder nominated directors, under certain conditions, to be included in the company’s official voting materials. In July 2013, the company hired three new directors. And the board expanded its outreach to shareholders on Whitworth’s watch.

惠普最近的股東投票材料中描述了公司在惠特曼領導下取得的部分成就。在特定情況下，某些公司允許在公司官方投票材料中提名股東爲董事，惠普是其中一家。2013年7月，公司新聘請了三位董事。惠特沃斯任職期間，惠普董事會加大了與股東的聯繫。

HP had a lot to do to rehabilitate its governance image. Today, HP is no longer the laughing stock it once was in the corporate director community.

爲了恢復在公司治理方面的形象，惠普要做很多事情。如今，惠普不再是公司董事會團體裏的笑柄。

It will be difficult for HP’s board to continue effectively in Whitworth’s absence. When Whitworth was appointed as interim chair in April 2013, I wrote that, “Whitworth has pledged that the board will recruit a chair presumably outside the ranks of existing members.” In July 2013, three new directors joined the board. But none have governance running through their veins, like Whitworth has, and none would provide the shield from shareholders that CEO Whitman has enjoyed. As of February 2014, the board reported that it was still searching for a suitable chair candidate.

沒有惠特沃斯，惠普董事會很難繼續保持有效運行。2013年4月，惠特沃斯被任命爲臨時主席時，我曾寫道：“惠特沃斯承諾，董事會將在現有成員之外招聘一位主席。”2013年7月，有三位新董事加入董事會。但沒有人像惠特沃斯一樣，具備公司治理方面的經驗，也沒有人能爲CEO惠特曼提供庇護，使其免受股東們的責難。2014年2月，惠普董事會表示仍在尋找一位合適的主席人選。

Giving the chair role to Whitman now would be a big mistake for HP, the board, and Whitman herself. But it’s possible the board will make that mistake. While the shareholder voting materials earlier this year said that, “The Board’s preferred governance structure is to separate the roles of Chairman and CEO because it allows our CEO to focus primarily on our business strategy and operations,” later on, the same document equivocates. “This reflects the Board’s preferred governance structure of a separate Chairman and CEO, but the Board’s leadership structure may vary in the future as circumstances warrant.”

現在，任命惠特曼兼任董事會主席，不論對惠普、董事會還是惠特曼自己來說，都將是一個巨大的錯誤。但惠普董事會很可能會犯這樣的錯誤。雖然今年年初的股東投票材料中寫道：“公司更傾向於董事會主席與CEO的職責分離的治理結構，因爲這種結構將使公司CEO致力於商業策略與運營。”但文件下文卻變得模棱兩可。“這反映出董事會首選的是董事會主席與CEO職責分離這種治理結構，但在特殊情況下，未來董事會的領導結構可能發生變化。”

HP has many challenges ahead. At the end of June, HP had good news on the Autonomy front when it reached settlements in three shareholder lawsuits, the Wall Street Journal reported. But, as the Journal pointed out, regulatory inquiries are ongoing. Apple’s AAPL -1.78% new partnership with IBM IBM 0.07% is just one example of a host of competitive struggles the company faces.

惠普面臨諸多挑戰。《華爾街日報》（Wall Street Journal ）報道稱，在六月底，惠普收購的Autonomy公司傳來好消息，公司在三起股東訴訟中均已達成和解。但《華爾街日報》指出，監管調查仍在繼續。對惠普來說，蘋果與IBM最近達成的合作，只是它所面臨的競爭中的一筆。

Relational, Whitworth’s firm, has been a major owner in HP stock. If the board is smart, they will consider extending an offer to Dave Batchelder, Relational’s other co-founder, to join the board and take the interim chair spot until a permanent chair is selected. Batchelder, like Whitworth, is respected in both the shareholder and board member communities. He could stabilize the board and help ensure HP finds the right permanent chair.

惠特沃斯的公司Relational是惠普的主要股東。如果董事會足夠聰明，應該考慮邀請Relational另外一位聯合創始人貝奇德加入公司董事會，並在選出常駐主席之前，擔任臨時主席。與惠特沃斯一樣，貝奇德也深受股東和董事會成員的尊敬。他能夠穩定軍心，幫助確保惠普找到合適的常駐董事會主席。

Such a move would also give Whitman more time to focus on her responsibilities as CEO of HP. I’m thinking she could use it.

而且，這種做法也可以給惠特曼更多時間，致力於履行惠普CEO的職責。我認爲，她會充分利用這段寶貴的時間。

Eleanor Bloxham is CEO of The Value Alliance and Corporate Governance Alliance, a board education and advisory firm.

本文作者愛麗諾·布洛斯罕是董事會諮詢機構價值聯盟和公司治理聯盟（The Value Alliance and Corporate Governance Alliance，）首席執行官。