H-P Appoints New Ethics Chief

Hewlett-Packard(HPQ - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) has named a new head of ethics and compliance, one week after the last person to hold the job was indicted on criminal charges stemming from the company's controversial leak investigation.

With H-P's reputation under fire as a result of the investigation, CEO Mark Hurd went back to his roots to fill the ethics position, tapping the former general counsel of NCR(NCR - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), the company Hurd led before joining H-P.

On Thursday, H-P said it has appointed Jon Hoak as vice president and chief ethics and compliance officer. Hoak will be responsible for H-P's adherence to its standards of business conduct and report to Hurd.

Hoak will eventually report to H-P's general counsel once the company fills that position.

H-P's previous general counsel, Ann Baskins, resigned last month. Kevin Hunsaker, a senior in-house attorney responsible for overseeing ethics at H-P, was reportedly fired for his role in an investigation into media leaks that included accessing the personal phone records of board members, employees and journalists.

Hunsaker, along with former Chairwoman Patricia Dunn and three private investigators, were charged with violating California laws regarding identify theft and unauthorized computer access.

According to H-P, Hoak will work with Bart Schwartz, an outside counsel hired last month, to evaluate the company's current investigative practices.