????惠特沃思將在薪酬委員會(huì)任職，該委員會(huì)需要處理股東們?cè)谕镀狈駴Q公司薪酬安排時(shí)提出的種種問(wèn)題。這項(xiàng)任命或許有助于增強(qiáng)股東對(duì)公司改革的支持。

????協(xié)議還禁止惠特沃思協(xié)助股東就董事會(huì)候選人提名或其他提議發(fā)起的任何行動(dòng)。惠普一直是明年股東提名建議的主要候選公司。惠特沃思的任命或許會(huì)勸阻惠普公司的維權(quán)股東不要采取這種辦法，至少現(xiàn)在不要。

????但我們希望，惠特沃思的任命不僅僅只是一個(gè)防御性舉措，而是代表著董事會(huì)執(zhí)行主席雷?萊恩、古普塔和其他董事改善惠普公司治理規(guī)范的真實(shí)意愿。

????惠特沃思2006年曾與我進(jìn)行了一次廣泛深入的討論，詳細(xì)闡述了他對(duì)公司治理持有的一些觀點(diǎn)。惠特沃思稱(chēng)，他認(rèn)為，做一名維權(quán)股東是非常重要的，因?yàn)椤八枪芾砉ぷ鬟@一概念的題中應(yīng)有之義，它是身為股東與公司簽署的協(xié)約。”資本市場(chǎng)體系“倘若沒(méi)有問(wèn)責(zé)制，就無(wú)法正常運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)，當(dāng)然，問(wèn)責(zé)制最終必須由所有者親自推動(dòng)。因此，必須成為一位積極的維權(quán)者。必須保持警覺(jué)，當(dāng)好手頭資產(chǎn)的管家，鼓勵(lì)你的代理人，也就是公司的董事們，切實(shí)履行好監(jiān)管之責(zé)，”他當(dāng)時(shí)這樣說(shuō)道。

????惠特沃思表示，每個(gè)董事會(huì)都應(yīng)該“確保董事會(huì)中有一兩位專(zhuān)門(mén)挑刺的成員。”他還提議，每個(gè)董事會(huì)都需要任命一位成員質(zhì)詢董事會(huì)的行動(dòng)，這個(gè)人必須“非常獨(dú)立，”敢于“說(shuō)出自己的想法。”

????但愿惠特沃思能發(fā)揮表率作用，為顯著改善惠普公司治理規(guī)范鼓與呼。如果他做到這一點(diǎn)，惠普長(zhǎng)達(dá)10年的公司治理困境或許會(huì)最終迎來(lái)一個(gè)皆大歡喜的結(jié)局。

????本文作者Eleanor Bloxham系董事會(huì)咨詢機(jī)構(gòu)價(jià)值同盟和公司治理同盟公司（The Value Alliance and Corporate Governance Alliance）CEO。

????譯者：任文科

????Whitworth will serve on the compensation committee, which will need to address shareholder concerns raised in this year's vote against the company's pay practices. His appointment may help bolster shareholder support for any changes the company makes.

????The agreement also bars Whitworth from aiding any campaign to institute shareholder nominations of candidates for board elections or other proposals. HP had been a prime candidate for a shareholder nominations proposal next year. Whitworth's appointment may dissuade active HP shareholders from pursuing this avenue, at least for now.

????But hopefully, Whitworth's appointment is more than just a defensive move and represents a real interest in better governance practices by executive chair Ray Lane, Gupta, and the other members of HP's board.

????In a wide-ranging discussion with me in 2006, Whitworth articulated some of his views on governance. Whitworth said that he thought being an active shareholder was important because "it comes right out of the concept of stewardship, and the contract essentially that you have with the company as a shareholder." The capital markets system, he said at the time, "doesn't work without accountability, and the accountability, of course, ultimately has to be driven by the owners…. So, you have to be active. You have to be vigilant to be a good steward of the assets that you own and to encourage excellent stewardship by those that represent you, in this case the board of directors."

????Whitworth said every board should "make sure that [they] have a couple of prickly devil's advocates around the table". He also proposed that every board needs a designated person to question a board's actions, someone who is "very independent" and will "speak their mind."

????Here's hoping that Whitworth will be that role model and voice for significantly stronger governance practices at HP. If he is, HP's decade-long corporate governance troubles may have a happy ending after all.

????Eleanor Bloxham is CEO of The Value Alliance and Corporate Governance Alliance (http://thevaluealliance.com), a board advisory firm.