Will Ousted HP Chief Mark Hurd Be Asked to Quit News Corp.'s Board?

Inappropriate reporting of expenses got Mark Hurd fired from his job running Hewlett-Packard (HPQ). Will it cost him his seat on News Corp.'s (NWS) board of directors as well?

Hurd, who resigned amid accusations that he used company money to underwrite his one-on-one time with former actress Jodie Fisher, has occupied a seat on the News Corp. board since February 2008. He's part of a group that also includes former Spanish president Jose Maria Aznar, former Goldman Sachs president John L. Thornton, and Lachlan Murdoch, son of chairman Rupert Murdoch. Also on the board is Thomas J. Perkins, the former Hewlett-Packard director whose resignation from that company's board triggered an investigation that ultimately brought down then-chairman Patricia Dunn.

Asked whether Hurd will be asked to resign, a News Corp. spokesman declined to comment. Hurd's work on the board earned him $206,605 in total compensation in fiscal 2009, including $111,000 in cash. That made him the third-highest compensated director after Lachlan Murdoch and Arthur Siskind, the longtime senior advisor to Rupert Murdoch. Of course, considering Hurd walks away from HP with a severance package worth almost $28 million, he can probably stand the loss of income from his News Corp. gig.