It might appear that with the exit of high-profile chief executive Carly Fiorina, HP will now have to struggle on without a strong woman at the helm. Or not. Clearly new non-exec chairman Patricia Dunn is the equal of Fiorina when it comes to not being a shrinking violet, as today’s FT reports. "In 2000, [Dunn] gave a speech that stunned a mutual fund conference. Of the industry's high fees, she said investment managers sell 'for the price of a Picasso [what] routinely turns out to be paint-by numbers'." That's a handy metaphor - one that Dunn must have come up with after pondering the price of HP colour printer cartridges, Sneak assumes.

11 Feb 2005