HP (HPQ) claims that the Mark Hurd resignation has no implications past or future for the company. It was just a personal thing, we're led to believe. But I think this dustup has major implications for future revenue targets.
The question is not what he-did/she-did in the privacy of Hurd's $5000 a night relationship with the has-been skin-flick bit player (cum real-estate executive and sales person) but why did HP feel it had to hire a has-been skin-flick bit player to introduce customer A to Hurd at apparenly high-level sales meetings? Couldn't Hurd introduce himself. Or perhaps the local account manager for Customer A could have said, "Hey Mark, meet Joe."
I for one, were I a higher level HP customer -- and not just the owner of a couple of HP PCs and printers -- would take my business elsewhere if I had not been invited to one of these meetings. And will customer A, who presumably will no longer be introduced to HP execs by a has-been skin flick bit player, take his business to Oracle (ORCL) or IBM?
This looks like it could have a major impact on the winter quarter's revenue targets. I'm ratcheting down that line item in my HP model. On the other hand, things look better on the expense side as HP cuts back on such well strategized marketing expenses.
-- Dennis Byron
(no position in companies mentioned)
The question is not what he-did/she-did in the privacy of Hurd's $5000 a night relationship with the has-been skin-flick bit player (cum real-estate executive and sales person) but why did HP feel it had to hire a has-been skin-flick bit player to introduce customer A to Hurd at apparenly high-level sales meetings? Couldn't Hurd introduce himself. Or perhaps the local account manager for Customer A could have said, "Hey Mark, meet Joe."
I for one, were I a higher level HP customer -- and not just the owner of a couple of HP PCs and printers -- would take my business elsewhere if I had not been invited to one of these meetings. And will customer A, who presumably will no longer be introduced to HP execs by a has-been skin flick bit player, take his business to Oracle (ORCL) or IBM?
This looks like it could have a major impact on the winter quarter's revenue targets. I'm ratcheting down that line item in my HP model. On the other hand, things look better on the expense side as HP cuts back on such well strategized marketing expenses.
-- Dennis Byron
(no position in companies mentioned)
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