He said the company is trying hard to "reduce our layers of management. I have firm belief that the the fewer number of layers you've got, the more speed you have, [and] the less cost you have, the less complexity."

At the end of his talk, Hurd was asked a series of questions by Novia on index cards, called "secret questions." None concerned the pretexting scandal or even specifics about some of the technology issues users have raised, such as HPUC. One question dealt with the differentiators that separate HP from its competitors. Hurd said the company would stay with its core technology and wouldn't push into consulting.

"Core technology, core services around that technology," he said, explaining the company's direction.