Deposed H-P CEO Mark Hurd has hired Sitrick & Co. for PR counsel as he navigates the aftermath of his forced resignation from the Silicon Valley giant.

Hurd’s departure was announced by H-P on Aug. 6 following an investigation of a claim of sexual harassment against him by a former company contractor and ex-reality show contestant, Jodie Fisher.

Sitrick partner Glenn Bunting, a crisis and media specialist who heads the firm’s San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Miami offices, is representing Hurd. Bunting is a 22-year veteran of the Los Angeles Times.

The firm repped former H-P board chair Patricia Dunn when she resigned in 2006 during the company’s “pretexting” scandal.

H-P said the 53-year-old Hurd, mostly lauded for his term guiding the tech giant, did not violate the company’s sexual harassment policy but broke its standards of business conduct.

Hurd has not issued any public comments himself since he was quoted in the resignation announcement from HP .

Fisher released a statement on Sunday through high-profile Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred.

“I have resolved my claim with Mark privately, without litigation, and I do not intend to comment on it further,” said an Aug. 8 statement from Fisher via Allred.

The New York Times reported earlier this week that APCO Worldwide counseled H-P’s board that it would likely “endure a devastating PR hit” if Hurd remained at the helm.

“Glenn Bunting would also like you to believe that Jeremiah Masoli isn’t a thug. Formerly an investigative reporter for the Los Angeles Times, where he spent 22 years, Bunting is currently managing director of Sitrick & Company, a crisis management firm. Sitrick’s San Francisco office, which Bunting manages, was made aware of the case through a friend of the Masolis who was a local lawyer and knew its details. After meeting Masoli and his parents and researching the case, Bunting and a colleague agreed to represent the family. It was Bunting who noticed the line in the police report about Embry and his roommates giving another Oregon player a lift later that night. Bunting followed up by asking Masoli to approach the player — long snapper Jeff Palmer — and have him sign a statement as to what he witnessed.”

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Lieutenant General H Steven Blum (US Army, Ret.), one of the world’s leading experts on Homeland Security, has joined Sitrick Brincko Group as Managing Director and Group Practice Leader.

Sitrick Brincko, a management consulting firm specializing in strategic, crisis and corporate communications and corporate advisory and turnaround work, is a unit of Resources Connection, Inc. (Nasdaq: RECN). Sitrick Brincko is the parent company of Sitrick And Company and Brincko Associates.

General Blum, who retired on June 1, 2010, after a 41-year career in the United States Army and National Guard, will lead the firm’s crisis practice in the areas of Homeland Security issues advising clients in preparing for and dealing with natural and man-made disasters. He will also lead the firm’s practice areas in Defense, Government Relations and Public Affairs.

As Deputy Commander, United States Northern Command and before that Chief of the National Guard Bureau, General Blum was one of the highest ranked military officers in the United States dealing with Homeland Security issues for the United States, Mexico and Canada. He also oversaw the mobilization of the National Guard for such domestic emergencies as 9-11, National Special Security Events, Hurricane Katrina, the California wildfires, as well as the two-year deployment of the National Guard to provide military support to the US Border Patrol along our nation’s southwest border. As Commanding General for Multinational Division (North) Stabilization Force 10, Operation Joint Forge, Bosnia Herzegovina, he commanded a multi-national joint force, consisting of US soldiers from Active, National Guard and Reserve forces from over 23 states and armed forces contributed from nine different countries. The force successfully maintained a safe and secure environment in this war torn region in the complex and uncertain post 9-11 environment.

“Our firm is known for dealing with all kinds of crises, from plant explosions to toxic waste issues, from oil spills to product recalls, from patent litigation to criminal investigations, from financial restructurings and turnarounds to bankruptcies,” said Michael Sitrick, Chairman and CEO of Sitrick Brincko. “General Blum brings a critical new element of what we can offer our clients.

“Over the past decade, he has managed the aftermath of nearly every kind of major crisis imaginable from terrorist attacks to natural disasters – for cities, states and an entire region of the world. His experience and expertise will be invaluable to helping clients prepare for a whole variety of events, including these and other worst case scenarios. We are very excited about the value he will bring to our clients and are extremely flattered that he chose to join our firm,” he said.

General Blum added, “The results that Mike Sitrick and John Brincko have achieved for their clients have demonstrated time and again that they are one of the best, if not the best strategic consulting firm in the nation – especially for high stakes situations When Mike and John came to me with this opportunity, we all immediately saw the fit. I have spent my life protecting and serving. I am pleased to be able to make this same contribution going forward through Sitrick Brincko and Resources Connection.”

During his career, General Blum commanded at every level, including a Special Forces Operational Detachment-A, a Light Infantry Battalion, an Infantry Brigade, a Division Support Command, and twice as the Commanding General of the 29th Infantry Division (Light).

In his years of service, General Blum received more than two dozen major awards and decorations, including being twice awarded the Department of Defense Distinguished Service medal, the Army Distinguished Service medal, two awards of the Defense Superior Service Medal and three awards of the Legion of Merit.

About Sitrick Brincko Group

Sitrick Brincko Group is the parent company of Sitrick And Company, Inc. (www.sitrick.com), one of the nation’s leading strategic communications firms and Brincko Associates, Inc. (www.brincko.com), a widely respected corporate advisory and restructuring firm. Sitrick And Company, with headquarters in Los Angeles and offices in New York, San Francisco, Baltimore and Miami, specializes in corporate, financial, transactional and crisis communications. It was founded in 1989. Headquartered in Southern California, Brincko Associates is an international management consulting firm established in 1979. Sitrick And Company and Brincko Associates merged in November 2009 and were immediately acquired by and became an operating subsidiary of Resources Connection, Inc. (Nasdaq: RECN).

General Blum retired from his role in the United States Army in June this year after 41 years of service. He is an internationally renowned expert on homeland security and will accordingly take charge of the firm’s dealings in that area.

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Mike Sitrick was never supposed to work in public relations. As a young man he wanted to be a journalist and worked briefly as a reporter when, in 1969, he found himself in talks with the Chicago Tribune about a job paying $125 a week.

He also received an offer worth $160 a week working in PR at the University of Maryland, where he had studied. “I said to my wife: ‘I love journalism but I’d rather eat,’ ” he recalls.

The companies, celebrities and other clients that have relied on Mr Sitrick’s skills since he founded his own firm in 1989 after working at various businesses in-house, will be glad he chose the career he did. From his headquarters in the heart of Los Angeles, Sitrick and Company has carved out a lucrative niche offering crisis advice for embattled companies and celebrities who have found themselves in the media’s cross-hairs.

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As the economy continues to throttle more and more
financially borderline corporations, troubled companies
and their advisers are increasingly turning to what is
known as the “363 sale” to engineer their way out of
bankruptcy and liquidation. General Motors did it;
Chrysler did it; the Chicago Cubs did. Companies as
diverse as publisher Freedom Communications and
government information technology contractor
BearingPoint are turning to 363 sales to secure a future
for their businesses.

Often negotiated as part of a pre-negotiated or prepackaged
Chapter 11, the 363 sale, named after the section of
the Bankruptcy Code in which it is found, allows debtors
to sell assets “free and clear” of all liens, claims and
encumbrances. It also provides a controlled process for
entertaining and evaluating bids and completing the sale
process expeditiously.

But while the 363 process may be straight forward and
relatively swift, the potential for disrupting the business
is not. From the time the possibility of a sale process is
announced to the time it is completed may mean
serious distraction to the debtor’s ongoing business, as
employees, customers and vendors, in particular,
ponder the future of their jobs, their business relationships
and the products they purchase. And those
imponderables surely impact a business’ performance
during this time and have a direct impact on how it is
valued during the process.

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Marketing and public relations experts say what the company does in coming days will be key to preserving its image.

Glenn Bunting, managing director for the Los Angeles-based crisis management firm Sitrick and Co. said SeaWorld needs to respond promptly and proactively.

“They need to review every safety precaution,” he said. “They need to explain how it happened, why it happened and make sure it doesn’t happen again to reassure the public.”

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According to a recent poll, the former presidential candidate is now historically disfavored. After taking the opinions of 678 North Carolina Voters, Public Policy Polling announced on Jan. 19 that with a 15% approval rate, Edwards was the most unpopular person it had ever polled — and this is from the state that gave us Jesse Helms. Another poll named him the most disappointing person of 2009. Yes, Edwards has come a long way from those blissful days when all most people hated him for was his $400 haircuts.

Image consultants and PR managers, who are professionally optimistic, say it’s possible for him to rehabilitate his public image, but not easy. First up, he has to come totally clean and he has to do so in front of a camera. On Jan. 21, just shy of Quinn Hunter’s second birthday, Edwards issued a statement that finally copped to him being her father. “It was wrong for me ever to deny she was my daughter and hopefully one day, when she understands, she will forgive me,” the press release said. Nuh-uh. For a doozy like that, you have to front up personally, say the experts. “I can’t emphasize enough — the tone of voice is the most important element,” says Mike Sitrick of the PR firm Sitrick and Company. “This is an art, not a science.”

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