Defending Dunn in Public

Expert analyst Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, considered impartial, urged the HP board not to fire anyone before conducting an independent investigation

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By Lorraine Woellert

September 28, 2006 at 7:14 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Editor's Note: The following article reflects corrections made after the story's original publication on Sept. 28. In his Sept. 11 presentation to Hewlett-Packard's board of directors, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld urged the board to conduct an independent investigation before "throwing bodies under the bus," a remark that some sources may have interpreted as a defense of Chairman Patricia Dunn. CEO Mark Hurd, at Dunn's behest, made the call inviting Sonnenfeld to present to the board. Sonnenfeld disclosed his role as an unpaid presenter to the board to CNBC on Sept. 11 and Sept. 14.

Hewlett-Packard's drama, as most tragedies, has a chorus. In this case, it's a clutch of corporate governance experts opining on who was right, what went wrong, and how the company could have handled things better.