August 6 will not go down as one of the better days in Hewlett-Packard history. Not only did HP lose a CEO who had offered stability following Carly Fiorina's rocky tenure as CEO, but it did so as part of a sensational scandal that won't fade quickly from memory.

When word got out Friday that Mark Hurd had resigned over a sexual harassment suit, HP stock fell 10 percent after the market closed. But the revelation Sunday that the marketing contractor who had filed the suit was Jodie Fisher, a B-movie actress and reality TV contestant, ensured that the scandal will have a long life. Fisher and Hurd settled on Thursday.