HP Hits Oracle With Lawsuit for Hiring Hurd

The tech giant says its secrets could be jeopardized by its former CEO joining a competitor.

By David Needle:

HP isn’t through with Mark Hurd just yet. The tech industry’s largest player yesterday filed a lawsuit against Oracle, charging that its hiring of former HP CEO Mark Hurd will lead to leaked trade secrets.

It’s the latest development in a series of controversies surrounding the departure of Hurd from HP, the company that he’s widely credited with turning around and launching on a string of acquisitions designed to cash in on lucrative demand for IT services and other areas.

HP didn’t waste much time responding to Oracle’s Labor Day announcement that it had hired former HP (NYSE: HPQ) CEO Mark Hurd as its president. Tuesday, HP filed a civil complaint in California Superior Court aimed at preventing Hurd from working at Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL).

The suit claims that by joining Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL), Hurd will “inevitably” break the confidentiality agreement he signed to protect HP’s trade secrets.

HP also noted Hurd signed the company’s confidentiality agreement to protect trade secrets the past three years, most recently in February.

The news threatens to upend Oracle’s plans to give its new systems business a positive jolt with the hiring of enterprise heavyweight Hurd.

“There is no executive in the IT world with more relevant experience than Mark,” Oracle CEO Larry Ellison said in a statement on Hurd’s appointment. “Oracle’s future is engineering complete and integrated hardware and software systems for the enterprise.”

Barring a settlement, a case decided in HP’s favor could result in a judge enjoining Hurd from working at Oracle. In the interim, the case could drag on for months throwing Hurd’s effectiveness in doubt.

“I’m not a lawyer, but on the face of it, it seems HP’s complaint is valid primarily for one essential reason: Oracle’s purchase of Sun Microsystems,” Charles King, principal analyst with Pund-IT, told InternetNews.com. “If this had happened last year, pre-Sun, it wouldn’t have surprised me if Oracle could have effectively argued that it was a close strategic partner with HP and that Mark Hurd couldn’t tell them anything they didn’t already know.”

“But now that Oracle’s in the systems business, I’m not sure what Oracle or Hurd’s argument would be in terms of justifying any claim that his working there would not constitute a conflict,” King added.

An Oracle spokesperson confirmed that Hurd’s employment at Oracle officially began Monday, but had no further comment on HP’s suit, which asks for “injunctive relief and damages” and to “enjoin Hurd from holding a position with a competitor.”

The complaint said in part:

“Despite being paid millions of dollars in cash, stock and stock options in exchange for Hurd’s agreements to protect HP’s trade secrets and confidential information during his employment and following his departure from his positions at HP as Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, and President, HP is informed and believes and thereon alleges that Hurd has put HP’s most valuable trade secrets and confidential information in peril. ”

“Hurd accepted positions with Oracle Corporation …, a competitor of HP, yesterday as its President and as a member of its Board of Directors. In his new positions, Hurd will be in a situation in which he cannot perform his duties for Oracle without necessarily using and disclosing HP’s trade secrets and confidential information to others.”

With the acquisition of Sun Microsystems earlier this year, Oracle is in the midst of a transition from software and services to a complete systems provider that competes with the likes of IBM and Dell as well as HP.

Hurd resigned from HP last month as part of an agreement that paid him millions in severance following the revelation that he falsified expense reports to cover up a personal relationship with an HP contractor.

source: internet news

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TAXPAYERS FACE LOSSES ON GM’S INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING

By Mark Kleis

Several sources familiar with the preparations of General Motors’ upcoming initial public offering are, according to the latest projections, suggesting that American taxpayers could take a loss on the offering, potentially pushing off payback for years.

The U.S. taxpayers currently lay claim to a 61 percent ownership stake in GM, meaning taxpayers would need GM’s IPO to value the automaker in the realm of $70 billion in order to break even on their investment. Six individuals with inside knowledge on the offering say that the Treasury intends to sell the first available shares below the projected break-even valuation rate, according toReuters.

Selling shares below the market value is not a unique approach, Reuterspoints out that it is a common practice on Wall Street to give incentives to early investors. Typically the discount is placed between 10 and 15 percent, but some analysts are suggesting that GM may need to offer a deeper discount due to the looming economic uncertainty, increasing the likelihood that the taxpayers will not be fully reimbursed through the IPO.

Depending on the level of the discount, GM may come up short, as analysts believe that the market valuation of GM is between $50 and $90 billion – making the target value of $70 billion a possibility. Even if GM’s market value comes in at $70 billion, if the discount is too steep, the break-even will still not be met.

The sources also explained that for taxpayers to fully recoup the $50 billion investment made thus far, GM may need up to three years and several additional offerings.

Despite several projections placing a full payback out of reach at this time, GM still plans to hold a roadshow to woo investors beginning the day after the November 2nd elections, and leading up to the November 18th IPO.

source: leftlanenews

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Baby Boomers, Beware! Don’t Let Your Resume Date You!

by Deborah Walker

If you’re a job-seeker of the Baby Boom generation, you may be feeling a little left out by the job market You’re certainly not ready to retire, but the young recruiters you send resumes to don’t seem to respond to your skills and experience. If you’re experiencing symptoms of age discrimination, you should know that your resume could be the culprit, categorizing you as out of date and over the hill.

There are three ways your resume can put you in the over the hill category. Your resume is due for an update if it contains:

  1. Outdated technology skills
  2. Outdated industry or occupational terminology
  3. Outdated resume trends

Don’t despair if your resume is out of date. You can perform an extreme resume makeover by using the tips below.

1. Make sure you are up to date on your industry’s technology.Check multiple job descriptions within your industry to see what technologies employers really want. Determine which technologies are missing from your resume. Then decide what you need to learn or do to fill that technology gap. Consider adult-education classes, college classes, or even online learning.

You should be aware that technology terms are often used as keywords to filter the best resumes from electronic databases. If your resume doesn’t have them, it may never be seen. Make sure your technology skills aren’t leaving you behind.

2. Make sure your resume is using current terminology. If you have just been adding to the same old resume over the years, then your early entries may be using outdated terms. One way to bring your resume up to date is through publications from your industry’s professional associations. If you don’t belong to any professional associations, you might be missing out on the latest industry-speak.

Another good resource is job descriptions. Search job descriptions in your field for recurring terms. Learn to use the current terminology for your industry correctly and effectively.

3. Make sure your resume reflects today’s trends in resume format and style. Some of the old resume rules just don’t apply any more. For example:

Old Rule: Limit your resume to one page. New Approach: This is a really old idea that limits your ability to show all of your skills and expertise.

Old Rule: End your resume with References Available Upon Request. New Approach: You don’t need to say that; it’s assumed.

Old Rule: You should show every job you have ever held and give each equal importance. New Approach: Your employment history should only go back as far as it related to your current employment objectives. Think of your resume as a marketing piece that highlights the best parts rather than as a tell-all.

Old Rule: Your resume should go back no more than 10 years. New Approach: Don’t use an arbitrary number to determine how much to include on your resume. Use the rule of relevancy to decide how many of your jobs to include.

Old Rule: One resume should handle everything. New Approach: Not anymore! In addition to tailoring your resume to different fields or industries, you’ll also need to tailor the way that you save it.

You’ll want to have a standard Word format (for printouts and as email attachments), and a plain text version for online forms, which will save you a lot of time in repairing lost formatting, which often occurs when cutting and pasting a Word document into a text-only form.

Let your experience work for you rather than against you. Using these tips to update your resume can make a noticeable difference in interest from employers. And your new resume will be a better reflection of your hard-earned skills, talents, and expertise.

careers: QuintCareers

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