HP ' s interim chief says Oracle alliance ' strained '
Hurd
Hewlett-Packard Co.'s quarter-century alliance with Oracle Corp. has been "strained" by the dispute over Oracle's hiring of ousted HP CEO Mark Hurd  HP's interim chief said Wednesday.
 Cathie Lesjak also said Hurd needs to be "reminded" that he signed agreements to keep HP's trade secrets and other confidential information secret. She said that's why HP is suing to stop him from working at Oracle.
 The ties between the two companies were fraying before Hurd's hiring  as Oracle is muscling in on HP's turf by starting to sell computing hardware.
 Oracle's naming of Hurd as a co-president is a thumb in HP's eye -- assuming Oracle isn't eventually blocked from letting him work. Many legal experts believe that HP's case will be hard to win  because California courts tend to side with workers and their right to take their skills to rival companies.
 Hurd abruptly resigned last month from HP after five years as CEO  in the wake of a sexual-harassment investigation that turned up inaccurate expense reports connected to his accuser. Ellison loudly came to Hurd's defense.
 HP will need an order from the California court where it filed its lawsuit to stop Hurd from working for Oracle. The first hearing in the case isn't scheduled until February  although HP is expected to seek a temporary restraining order before then.
 Hurd started his new job this week and is in charge of Oracle's global sales  consulting  marketing and technical support divisions.
 HP claims that Hurd will be dangerous to its business if he's allowed to work at Oracle  because he was privy while at HP to intimate information about customer accounts and HP's strategy for countering Oracle. HP claims that Hurd won't be able to do his job without divulging HP's secrets.
 Hurd took a severance package from HP that could top $40 million. Oracle revealed in a regulatory filing Wednesday that Hurd's new job will pay an annual salary of $950 000  and makes Hurd eligible for a target bonus of $5 million in the current fiscal year.
Hewlett-Packard Co.'s quarter-century alliance with Oracle Corp. has been "strained" by the dispute over Oracle's hiring of [TGT]HP's interim chief said Wednesday.
 Cathie Lesjak also said [TGT] needs to be "reminded" that he signed agreements to keep HP's trade secrets and other confidential information secret. She said that's why HP is suing to stop him from working at Oracle.
 The ties between the two companies were fraying before [TGT]'s hiring  as Oracle is muscling in on HP's turf by starting to sell computing hardware.
 Oracle's naming of [TGT] as a co-president is a thumb in HP's eye -- assuming Oracle isn't eventually blocked from letting him work. Many legal experts believe that HP's case will be hard to win  because California courts tend to side with workers and their right to take their skills to rival companies.
 [TGT] abruptly resigned last month from HP after five years as CEO  in the wake of a sexual-harassment investigation that turned up inaccurate expense reports connected to [TGT] accuser. Ellison loudly came to [TGT]'s defense.
 HP will need an order from the California court where it filed its lawsuit to stop [TGT] from working for Oracle. The first hearing in the case isn't scheduled until February  although HP is expected to seek a temporary restraining order before then.
 [TGT] started [TGT] new job this week and is in charge of Oracle's global sales  consulting  marketing and technical support divisions.
 HP claims that [TGT] will be dangerous to its business if [TGT]'s allowed to work at Oracle  because [TGT] was privy while at HP to intimate information about customer accounts and HP's strategy for countering Oracle. HP claims that [TGT] won't be able to do [TGT] job without divulging HP's secrets.
 [TGT] took a severance package from HP that could top $40 million. Oracle revealed in a regulatory filing Wednesday that [TGT]'s new job will pay an annual salary of $950 000  and makes [TGT] eligible for a target bonus of $5 million in the current fiscal year.