Woman in HP sex harass case 'surprised' at CEO's firing

The woman linked to Hewlett-Packard Co. chief executive Mark Hurd's sudden forced resignation Friday from the world's largest technology company says the she had settled the sexual harassment case and was surprised he lost his job.

Hurd stepped down after allegations were made that he falsified expense reports to conceal a relationship with a former contractor. Independent HP contractor, Jodie Fisher, had filed a sexual harassment charge, but it had been resolved well before the expense account problems emerged, according to statement Monday from Fisher's attorney.

"I was surprised and saddened that Mark Hurd lost his job over this. That was never my intention," Fisher said in the statement. "Mark and I never had an affair or intimate sexual relationship. I first met Mark in 2007 when I interviewed for a contractor job at the company."

HP's shares were off throughout morning trading. The stock has lost more than 16 percent so far this year.

Fisher, 50, an actress and businesswoman, knew Hurd through her contract jobs with HP's marketing department from 2007 to 2009. HP paid her up to $5,000 per event to greet people and make introductions among executives attending HP events that she helped organize.

Fisher has also worked as a saleswoman, an executive at a commercial real estate company, and as an actress. She appeared in some racy R-rated movies in her 30s and most recently was on a dating show called "Age of Love," in which women competed for the attention of tennis star Mark Philippoussis.

Her attorney statement describes Fisher as a single mother who is "focused on raising her young son."

Under Hurd, HP spent more than $20 billion on acquisitions and cut more than 40,000 jobs as he helped transform the company from a computer and printer maker dependent on ink sales for profits, to a well-rounded technology leader with a broad range of hardware and business services offerings.

"We are frankly surprised and disappointed as Hurd was a strong leader and helped transform HP into a leading player," said Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu in a note to investors. But, he added, HP's "culture of winning" that Hurd helped shape will likely remain intact.

Standard & Poor's equity analyst Tom Smith, however, cut his investment recommendation on HP's shares to "Buy" from "Strong Buy" and said the events add uncertainty to what's been a "generally strong management story."

Janney Capital Markets analyst William Fearnley Jr. called the event a "stunner" but added he still believes in the stock. Even so, he said the events - and their sudden nature - "will cast a shadow over the story and the stock until a new CEO is chosen."