Handling HP like scandal in India
By Ria Sharma

Hewlett Packard (HP) has sacked its Chairman and CEO, Mark Hurd, for using company funds to hire a ‘contractor’ who was paid as much as $5,000 to meet and greet executives at company functions. The boss also invited her to be dinner company. While the contractor Jodie Fisher denies a sexual relationship, she has been quoted as saying that she felt ‘pressurized’ to have sex. 

Mark was a man with the golden touch and HP lost billions of dollars in market value on news of his exit. He is also married with two children. Just before his sacking, Mark was finalizing a new $100 Million multi year employment contract with Hewlett Packard which he led to great success.

Jodie Fisher had posed for Playboy and starred in R rated movies as well as a reality show in which she along with other contestants had to win the heart of a tennis player.

Mark had personally interviewed Jodie for this ‘marketing’ role.  Later, she would charge him with sexual harassment. Hewlett Packard technicians examined their boss's work computer and found that he had watched a few racy clips of Jodie Fisher before hiring her.

It was not easy for the Hewlett Packard Board of Directors to sack a man who had added tens of billions of dollars to their share value.  The HP Board of Directors hired international public relations firm APCO worldwide to advise them on how to deal with a brilliant CEO who fudged some accounts and was being accused of sexual harassment.

APCO has advised Microsoft, Mercedes, IKEA, Down Corning, Procter & Gamble and many other blue chip companies.

HP only asked APCO to give their views on how the news would play out once it was made public.  APCO was not asked whether they should keep or fire Mark Hurd.

By now it is clear that APCO’s advice on this being a public relations nightmare was correct.  Given the sordid evidence emerging in recent days, it is clear that no tech company could support Mark Hurd and he had to be sacked.

APCO employs hundreds of PR specialists in 29 offices all over the world.  In India, it has a presence in Mumbai and New Delhi.

What would happen if an Indian tech firm faced a similar scandal, and like HP, sought APCO’s advice on how the news would be received by the Indian public?

Any APCO advice from India would have substantial input from the two key APCO employees in India.  The first is APCO Senior Counselor, Roger Hayes, who specializes in international strategic communication with a particular interest in emerging markets. Before joining APCO, he was chief executive officer of the International Institute of Communications (IIC); running conferences and seminars, undertaking research and publishing. For many years, he was directorate general of the British Nuclear Industry Forum (NIA) where he was chief spokesman and trade promoter during a particularly difficult time for the industry. He has also held senior public affairs and strategic communication positions with Ford, Thorn-EMI (EMI) and PA Consulting Group. Mr. Hayes began his career as a Reuter’s correspondent in Paris.

The APCO India website lists its second key player, Sanjay Bose, who would give input if any such crisis hit their Indian clients. 

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Sanjay Bose

Sanjay Bose, senior associate director of strategic communication, APCO Worldwide, is based out of Mumbai. In a career including more than 15 years of experience in public relations, Mr. Bose has hands on experience in driving communication strategy for reputed clients across many industries as head of South India operations.

Prior to joining APCO, Mr. Bose worked with three of India’s public relations agencies namely, Rediffusion DY&R – PR, Vaishnavi Corporate Communications and Brodeur India (the public relations division of TBWA). Rediffusion offered an excellent platform for Mr. Bose to develop his communication and crisis management skills with clients such as Canon, BPL Limited United Breweries Airtel and a host of other Indian and multinational companies.

During his time at Vaishnavi Corporate Communications, Mr. Bose serviced top Indian and multinational companies across industries including fast moving consumer goods, information technology, telecom, pharmaceuticals, health care, tourism and hospitality. Some of the companies for which he has worked include ITC Foods, The Himalaya Drug Company, Sun Microsystems, Singapore Airlines and the entire gamut of Tata companies including IHCL, Tata Indicom, Tata Motors, Tata Chemicals, TCS and Tata Steel.

Over his career Mr. Bose drove the communication strategy for clients such as Metro Cash & Carry, Biocon and Novo Nordisk, NIIT Avnet and Microchip, among others, wherein his key responsibilities included client mentoring and maintaining top media relationships. He has worked closely with the on international pitches for clients such as the government of Egypt and Verizon.

Over the last two years, he has worked with the state government of Karnataka to promote Bangalore and the State as an investment destination for information technology and has anchored media communication for Bangalore’s showcase information technology event namely, Bangalore IT. He was responsible for strategically advising the chief minister, the information technology secretary and the director – Software Technology Parks of India, apart from interfacing with the information technology captains in Karnataka.
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