????現(xiàn)在，任命惠特曼兼任董事會主席，不論對惠普、董事會還是惠特曼自己來說，都將是一個巨大的錯誤。但惠普董事會很可能會犯這樣的錯誤。雖然今年年初的股東投票材料中寫道：“公司更傾向于董事會主席與CEO的職責(zé)分離的治理結(jié)構(gòu)，因為這種結(jié)構(gòu)將使公司CEO致力于商業(yè)策略與運(yùn)營。”但文件下文卻變得模棱兩可。“這反映出董事會首選的是董事會主席與CEO職責(zé)分離這種治理結(jié)構(gòu)，但在特殊情況下，未來董事會的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)結(jié)構(gòu)可能發(fā)生變化。”

????惠普面臨諸多挑戰(zhàn)。《華爾街日報》（Wall Street Journal ）報道稱，在六月底，惠普收購的Autonomy公司傳來好消息，公司在三起股東訴訟中均已達(dá)成和解。但《華爾街日報》指出，監(jiān)管調(diào)查仍在繼續(xù)。對惠普來說，蘋果與IBM最近達(dá)成的合作，只是它所面臨的競爭中的一筆。

????惠特沃斯的公司Relational是惠普的主要股東。如果董事會足夠聰明，應(yīng)該考慮邀請Relational另外一位聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人貝奇德加入公司董事會，并在選出常駐主席之前，擔(dān)任臨時主席。與惠特沃斯一樣，貝奇德也深受股東和董事會成員的尊敬。他能夠穩(wěn)定軍心，幫助確保惠普找到合適的常駐董事會主席。

????而且，這種做法也可以給惠特曼更多時間，致力于履行惠普CEO的職責(zé)。我認(rèn)為，她會充分利用這段寶貴的時間。

????本文作者愛麗諾?布洛斯罕是董事會咨詢機(jī)構(gòu)價值聯(lián)盟和公司治理聯(lián)盟（The Value Alliance and Corporate Governance Alliance，http://thevaluealliance.com）首席執(zhí)行官。（財富中文網(wǎng)）

????翻譯：劉進(jìn)龍/汪皓

????Giving the chair role to Whitman now would be a big mistake for HP, the board, and Whitman herself. But it’s possible the board will make that mistake. While the shareholder voting materials earlier this year said that, “The Board’s preferred governance structure is to separate the roles of Chairman and CEO because it allows our CEO to focus primarily on our business strategy and operations,” later on, the same document equivocates. “This reflects the Board’s preferred governance structure of a separate Chairman and CEO, but the Board’s leadership structure may vary in the future as circumstances warrant.”

????HP has many challenges ahead. At the end of June, HP had good news on the Autonomy front when it reached settlements in three shareholder lawsuits, the Wall Street Journal reported. But, as the Journal pointed out, regulatory inquiries are ongoing. Apple’s AAPL -1.78% new partnership with IBM IBM 0.07% is just one example of a host of competitive struggles the company faces.

????Relational, Whitworth’s firm, has been a major owner in HP stock. If the board is smart, they will consider extending an offer to Dave Batchelder, Relational’s other co-founder, to join the board and take the interim chair spot until a permanent chair is selected. Batchelder, like Whitworth, is respected in both the shareholder and board member communities. He could stabilize the board and help ensure HP finds the right permanent chair.

????Such a move would also give Whitman more time to focus on her responsibilities as CEO of HP. I’m thinking she could use it.

????Eleanor Bloxham is CEO of The Value Alliance and Corporate Governance Alliance, a board education and advisory firm.