In a tense shareholders meeting, Hewlett Packard Co re-elected its board with erstwhile Chairman Ray Lane and three other board members keeping their seats with a narrow vote margin. The four were in danger of being ousted because of their key roles in the failed billion dollar acquisition of Autonomy Plc.
This comes at a time when investor discontent has swept HP after writedowns were made on Autonomy Plc. Shareholders accused the board for failing to conduct the proper due diligence as well as charges of accounting fraud. Lane won only 58.88% of shareholder votes as ISS and Glass Lewis had called for the removal of the current board. The firms gave votes of no confidence to lane, McKeeson Corp CEO John Hammergren, Wachovia Corp CEP G. Kenndy Thompson, angel investor Marc Andreessen and director Rajiv Gupta.
Results of voting had 53.91% for Hammergren, 55.15% for Thompson, 69.77% for Andreessen and 80.25% for Gupta.
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