HP appoints Jon Hoak as new chief ethics officer

Hewlett-Packard, a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions globally, on Thursday announced the appointment of Jon Hoak as vice president and chief ethics and compliance officer.

Jon Hoak has replaced Kevin Hunsaker, whose role in watching over the morality and legality of prying on board members ended after he gave up his position to face criminal indicts.

In a company release, HP stated that Hoak will be answerable for company’s bond to its Standards of Business Conduct and will report directly to the company’s chairman and CEO, Mark Hurd, until a general counsel is appointed.

Hurd has been successful, in managing to avoid taking any responsibilities or blame for the snooping scandal at HP. And if he keeps appointing his mates to key positions, that should continue.

The former General Counsel of HP, Ann Baskins, was one of three big-wig HP employees who left the company amid turbulence over the company's attempts to uncover and bring out boardroom leaks to the media.

As part of his duty, Hoak will also work with Bart Schwartz, an outside counsel who was hired last month to perform an independent assessment of current investigative practices and develop future best practices.

Telling about the richly experienced person, Hoak, Hurd said, “Jon brings a wealth of experience to HP, both as an attorney and a business leader.” About the company’s progress in the leadership of Hoak, Hurd asserted, “HP has traditionally led the industry in adherence to standards of ethics, privacy and corporate responsibility, and with Jon’s guidance, we will lead again.”

Hoak, 57, who has worked at Hurd's old company NCR as senior vice president and general counsel since 1993, started as HP's vice president and chief ethics and compliance officer from 11 October. Prior to joining NCR, Hoak served for three years as an attorney for AT&T and before this, he was a partner at the law firm of Sidley Austin.

The offerings by HP, which is struggling hard to recover from an embarrassing scandal over an internal probe of leaks to journalists, span IT infrastructure, global services, business and home computing, and imaging and printing.