HP's Hurd sold off NCR shares

In the two months before being named Hewlett-Packard's new CEO, Mark Hurd made $2.3 million from the sale of stock in his then-employer, NCR, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

But an HP spokesman said that the sales came before Hurd was contacted about the CEO's job and that there had been no impropriety.

Mark Hurd
Chief executive, HP

"He had no contact with HP or our executive recruiter until after he sold those shares," said HP's Bob Sherbin, noting that there is no correlation between the stock sales and Hurd's knowledge of whether he would be a candidate to fill the post vacated by Carly Fiorina.

An NCR representative added that the cash register giant has an internal review process to evaluate proposed trades of company stock by top-level executives and directors. The representative said that Hurd had abided by those internal processes in making the trades.

Hurd, who was NCR's chief executive from March 2003 until last month, sold the shares in early February of this year and early March. He was named HP's CEO last week. Following the announcement of Hurd's hiring, NCR's stock fell 17 percent to $31.40 a share.

Hurd's combined transactions represented 145,920 shares, larger than any other sale he made after becoming NCR's chief executive in 2002.

Hurd sold some NCR shares on Feb. 3. On Feb. 9, HP announced that Fiorina, its embattled chief executive, was leaving the company.

Hurd sold more NCR stock on March 1--and it was sometime after that that an executive search firm contacted Hurd, Sherbin said.