The woman at the center of the ethicsscandal that cost Mark Hurd the top job Hewett-Packard Co. identified herself Sunday as Jodie Fisher, a 50-year-old sometimeactress whose film credits include 'Intimate Obsession' and 'Body of Influence 2.'

Ms. Fisher, whose June 29 letter accusing Mr. Hurd of sexual harassment triggered a board investigation, said through her lawyer that she was 'surprised and saddened that Mark Hurd lost his job over this. That was never my intention.'

H-P said Friday that its board asked Mr. Hurd to resign as chief executive in large part because of expense irregularities uncovered during an investigation. It said he hadn't violated the company's policyregardingsexual harassment.

'Mark and I never had an affair or intimatesexual relationship,' Ms. Fisher said. 'I have resolved my claim with Mark privately, without litigation, and I do not intend to comment on it further.' Mr. Hurd reached a settlement with her Thursday, according to another person familiar with the matter.

Ms. Fisher's lawyer, Gloria Allred, said her client is a single mother, raising a young son, who had worked recently as the vice president of a commercial real estate company.

The scandal brought to a surprising end the tenure of a CEO who had placed great emphasis on upgrading H-P's ethics standards. Mr. Hurd had pledged to make company's code of business conduct stronger following a 2006 boardroom investigation that triggered the departure of then-HP chairwoman Patricia Dunn.

Directors, mindful of the company's strictpolicy on ethics violations, began losing trust in Mr. Hurd as details emerged from their investigation, according to people familiar with the matter.

Board members also feared Ms. Fisher's lawyer would publicize her letter if they didn't take punitive action against Mr. Hurd, according to one person familiar with the situation.

Mr. Hurd didn't fill out his own expense reports and offered to pay back the amounts involved, which totaled about $20,000, another person familiar with the situation said. He didn't believe that the investigation would end with his resignation until the middle of last week, this person added.

The board's decision stunned Silicon Valley and H-P investors. Analysts and corporate-governance experts now are debating whether the board acted decisively, or too rashly, in removing Mr. Hurd.

Ben Worthen / Joann S. Lublin

• sometime [´sʌmtaim] ad.曾经 a.从前的 (初中英语单词)
• investigation [in,vesti´geiʃən] n.调查(研究) (初中英语单词)
• lawyer [´lɔ:jə] n.律师；法学家 (初中英语单词)
• resign [ri´zain] v.辞职；放弃；委托 (初中英语单词)
• executive [ig´zekjutiv] a.行政的 n.行政官 (初中英语单词)
• intimate [´intimit] a.亲密的 n.知己 (初中英语单词)
• comment [´kɔment] n.&v.评论；评注；注意 (初中英语单词)
• commercial [kə´mə:ʃəl] a.商业的 n.广告节目 (初中英语单词)
• estate [i´steit] n.财产；庄园；等级 (初中英语单词)
• surprising [sə´praiziŋ] a.惊人的；意外的 (初中英语单词)
• departure [di´pɑ:tʃə] n.离开，出发 (初中英语单词)
• valley [´væli] n.谷；河谷；流域 (初中英语单词)
• scandal [´skændl] n.丑闻；耻辱；流言蜚语 (高中英语单词)
• actress [´æktris] n.女演员 (高中英语单词)
• regarding [ri´gɑ:diŋ] prep.关于 (高中英语单词)
• client [´klaiənt] n.委托人；顾客 (高中英语单词)
• emphasis [´emfəsis] n.强调；重点 (高中英语单词)
• strict [strikt] a.严厉的；精确的 (高中英语单词)
• resignation [,rezig´neiʃən] n.辞职(书)；放弃；顺从 (高中英语单词)
• fisher [´fiʃə] n.捕鱼人(船)；鱼貂 (英语四级单词)
• policy [´pɔlisi] n.政策；权谋；保险单 (英语四级单词)
• resolved [ri´zɔlvd] a.决心的；坚定的 (英语四级单词)
• ethics [´eθiks] n.伦理学；道德标准 (英语六级单词)
• sexual [´sekʃuəl] a.性(欲)的 (英语六级单词)
• privately [´praivitli] ad.秘密，一个人 (英语六级单词)