????上周二，惠普公司（HP）宣布，董事會臨時主席拉爾夫?惠特沃斯突然辭職，從周三起生效。此外，在其聯合創建的Relational Investors公司，這位激進投資者也因健康原因開始休假。

????對于惠普CEO梅格?惠特曼來說，這絕非好消息。惠特曼于2011年1月加入惠普董事會，并在同年九月份出任惠普CEO。2012年11月，惠普收購英國軟件公司Autonomy的交易巨虧90億美元，而且，外界對于惠特曼上臺之后惠普的業務模式和戰略也一直存在擔憂。盡管如此，惠特曼擔任惠普CEO的時間，已經遠遠超過了其前任李艾科（李艾科擔任CEO不足一年。）

????而她之所以能夠幸存下來，很大程度上得益于惠特沃斯顯而易見的耐心和支持。惠特沃斯于2011年11月加入惠普公司董事會，次年4月成為臨時主席。股東對惠特沃斯的尊敬，給惠特曼帶來了極大的幫助，他的存在以及他的樂觀精神，讓惠普股東消除了有關公司發展的疑慮，并穩定了股東情緒。在宣布惠特沃斯辭職的新聞發布會上，從發言中可以明顯感受到CEO與董事會主席之間的相互尊重。

????原彭尼百貨公司（J.C. Penney）CEO羅恩?約翰遜肯定希望自己能有惠特曼的好運。彭尼百貨公司董事會成員、激進投資者比爾?阿克曼，推薦前蘋果公司（Apple）高管約翰遜執掌公司。但不到兩年之后，約翰遜便被逐出門外。因為，董事會已經失去了耐心。

????美國公司董事聯合會（National Association of Corporate Directors）創始人兼榮譽主席約翰?M?納什表示：“對于惠普公司的治理，拉爾夫是一項寶貴的資產。”惠特沃斯擔任美國股東協會（United Shareholders Association）主席時，曾就公司治理問題在電視上與納什展開激辯。納什表示：“我們會求同存異，始終尊重彼此的意見。”（披露：納什在我在同一家公司工作。）

????惠普最近的股東投票材料中描述了公司在惠特曼領導下取得的部分成就。在特定情況下，某些公司允許在公司官方投票材料中提名股東為董事，惠普是其中一家。2013年7月，公司新聘請了三位董事。惠特沃斯任職期間，惠普董事會加大了與股東的聯系。

????為了恢復在公司治理方面的形象，惠普要做很多事情。如今，惠普不再是公司董事會團體里的笑柄。

????沒有惠特沃斯，惠普董事會很難繼續保持有效運行。2013年4月，惠特沃斯被任命為臨時主席時，我曾寫道：“惠特沃斯承諾，董事會將在現有成員之外招聘一位主席。”2013年7月，有三位新董事加入董事會。但沒有人像惠特沃斯一樣，具備公司治理方面的經驗，也沒有人能為CEO惠特曼提供庇護，使其免受股東們的責難。2014年2月，惠普董事會表示仍在尋找一位合適的主席人選。

????On Tuesday, HP announced the sudden resignation of interim board chair Ralph Whitworth effective Wednesday. The activist investor is also taking a leave of absence from the company he co-founded, Relational Investors, for health reasons.

????This is not good news for CEO Meg Whitman, who joined HP’s HPQ -1.12% board in January 2011 and became CEO that same year in September. Despite the nearly $9 billion write-down of HP’s Autonomy purchase in November 2012 and lingering concerns about HP’s business model and strategy on her watch, Whitman has survived atop HP much longer than her predecessor Leo Apotheker did. (He served less than a full year.)

????Her survival has been aided in large part by Whitworth’s evident patience and support since he joined the board in November 2011 and then became interim chair in April of last year. Whitman has benefited from the respect other shareholders have for Whitworth—and his presence and optimism have reassured HP shareholders about the company’s course, keeping them at bay. The mutual respect between the CEO and chair was evident in their statements in the tech giant’s press release announcing Whitworth’s departure.

????Former J.C. Penney JCP -1.61% CEO Ron Johnson likely wishes he’d had Whitman’s situation. In his case, shareholder activist Bill Ackman, who served on the J.C. Penney board, had recommended the former Apple executive for the top spot at the retailer. But Johnson was out the door in less than two years. Patience had run out.

????“Ralph was a big asset to corporate governance at HP,” says John M. Nash, founder and president emeritus of the National Association of Corporate Directors. When Whitworth was president of the United Shareholders Association, Nash and Whitworth used to spar on TV about governance issues, Nash says. “We agreed to disagree and we always respected each others’ opinions,” Nash told me. (Full disclosure: Nash has worked with my company.)

????HP’s latest voting materials described some of the firm’s accomplishments during Whitworth’s tenure. The company was one of the first to allow shareholder nominated directors, under certain conditions, to be included in the company’s official voting materials. In July 2013, the company hired three new directors. And the board expanded its outreach to shareholders on Whitworth’s watch.

????HP had a lot to do to rehabilitate its governance image. Today, HP is no longer the laughing stock it once was in the corporate director community.

????It will be difficult for HP’s board to continue effectively in Whitworth’s absence. When Whitworth was appointed as interim chair in April 2013, I wrote that, “Whitworth has pledged that the board will recruit a chair presumably outside the ranks of existing members.” In July 2013, three new directors joined the board. But none have governance running through their veins, like Whitworth has, and none would provide the shield from shareholders that CEO Whitman has enjoyed. As of February 2014, the board reported that it was still searching for a suitable chair candidate.