As an 18-year associate of Walter Hewlett in academic research, I wish
to speak (voluntarily) for Walter's abundant merits. These
observations are confined to the merits which seem most material to
the issues at hand:

1. Walter is a value-oriented person. He values employees, customers,
and (as the site http://votenohpcompaq.com reminds us) shareholders.
He cherishes merit and achievement, ingenuity and innovation,
commitment and dedication.

2. Walter is impeccably honest.  If you are looking for someone to
hold your wallet or purse while you are out of the room (which is what
you are doing when you own shares in a major corporation), you won't
find a more trustworthy custodian.

3. Walter is meticulous and thorough.  Any view he holds, and
particularly those few which he makes public, will be based on a
rigorous analysis of all available information. The information will
be well digested and the numbers carefully examined.

4. Walter's knowledge of technology is far-reaching. It extends to
hardware and software; to platforms and operating systems; to input,
storage, and output devices; to telecommunications equipment and
services; to information management and query; and to
document-representation and distribution systems (in short to
"end-to-end" processes).

5. Walter's achievements in highly specialized areas of research and
teaching at Stanford University are well known and highly respected.
These areas present complex challenges that draw the interest of
students and colleagues worldwide in such fields as computer science,
symbolic systems, human/computer interfaces, audio and mechanical
engineering, and information management. (For a brief assessment,
please see http://wbh.ccarh.org.)

6. The extent of Walter's dedication to Hewlett Packard Co. is total.
He has visited every plant, conversed with thousands of employees
(whose names he always makes it a point to remember), and closely
followed the development (and occasionally in the testing) of many of
the company's most successful products. He still maintains contact
with former co-workers at HP's first overseas plant (Boeblingen).

7. Walter's instinct for spotting the most productive pathways through
the technological maze is unerring.  In a valley repleat with
vaporware and myopic "visionaries," he seems to have x-ray vision for
the products and practices that have enduring value.

8. Few people with Walter's talents, skills, and opportunities are so
amply supplied with compassion and humility.

The combination of all these traits is much greater than the sum of
the parts. Few corporate boards in American can be so richly
endowed--or so stridently opposed to their own best hope for success.

(c) 2002 Eleanor Selfridge-Field

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