Jean Hobby
Hewlett Packard EnterpriseAbout Jean M. Hobby
Independent director of HPE since 2019; age 64. Former Global Strategy Partner and CFO at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), with deep finance, audit, and strategic planning expertise; designated audit committee financial expert by the Board. She serves as Audit Committee Chair and is a member of the HR & Compensation Committee. HPE states non-employee directors with more than five years of service have met its 5x cash retainer stock ownership guideline; Ms. Hobby joined in 2019, placing her within that cohort .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) | Global Strategy Partner | 2013–2015 | Senior leadership providing strategy oversight |
| PwC | Technology, Media & Telecom Sector Leader | 2008–2013 | Led sector strategy and client service |
| PwC | Chief Financial Officer | 2005–2008 | Enterprise finance leadership; audit and controls |
| PwC | Joined PwC; became Partner | Joined 1983; Partner in 1994 | Career progression to partnership |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Instruments Incorporated | Director | Current | Public company board governance |
| Integer Holdings Corporation | Director | Current | Public company board governance |
Board Governance
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Independence | Board determined Ms. Hobby is independent under HPE and NYSE standards; all Audit and HRC members are independent |
| Committees | Audit (Chair); HR & Compensation (Member) |
| Audit Committee activity | FY2024: 11 meetings; extensive executive/private sessions (10 executive, 6 private with management, 4 with internal audit, 7 with EY) signaling robust oversight |
| Board/committee attendance | FY2024: Board held 7 meetings; committees held 35; overall director attendance ~96%; all directors ≥78% |
| Overboarding limits | HPE limits directors to ≤4 other public boards (≤2 if a public-company CEO); all directors compliant |
Fixed Compensation
| Component (FY2024) | Amount ($) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Annual cash retainer | 115,000 | Standard non-employee director retainer |
| Audit Committee Chair fee | 30,000 | Paid quarterly; chair-level fee |
| Meeting fees | 0 | Fees only for meetings >10; none reflected |
| Total cash (FY2024) | 145,000 | Sum of cash items above |
| Director stock ownership guideline | 5× annual cash retainer ($575,000) | To be met within 5 years; includes deferred vested RSUs |
Fiscal 2024 director compensation reported for Jean M. Hobby: Fees earned or paid in cash $145,000; stock awards $240,000; total $385,000 .
Performance Compensation
| Equity/Terms | Grant Value ($) | Units Granted (#) | Vesting | Performance Metrics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual equity retainer (RSUs) | 240,000 | 14,068 | RSUs generally vest by the next annual meeting or after 1 year; dividend equivalents accrue | None disclosed for directors; RSUs are time-based (no TSR/financial metrics) |
Additional outstanding stock awards at FY2024 year-end for Jean M. Hobby: 31,976 units (includes dividend equivalents) .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Counterparty | Relationship to HPE | Independence/Conflict Review |
|---|---|---|
| Companies where HPE does business and HPE directors/officers (incl. Ms. Hobby or immediate family) serve as non-employee director/trustee/advisory board member | Ordinary-course supplier/purchaser relationships | Board determined transactions did not exceed greater of $1M or 2% of the other company’s revenues over the past 3 fiscal years and did not impair independence |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Audit committee financial expert; financial literacy confirmed by Board .
- Executive-level leadership and public-company board governance experience .
- Risk and compliance, operations oversight via Audit Committee chair role .
Equity Ownership
| Metric | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Beneficial ownership (shares) | 79,010 | As of Dec 31, 2024; less than 1% of shares outstanding |
| Ownership % | <1% | Based on 1,313,212,053 shares outstanding |
| RSUs outstanding | 31,976 | At FY2024 year-end (includes dividend equivalents) |
| Ownership guideline status | Met (cohort-wide statement) | HPE states all non-employee directors with >5 years have met the guideline; Ms. Hobby joined in 2019 |
Anti-hedging/pledging: HPE prohibits hedging, and generally prohibits pledging/margin accounts for directors, aligning interests with shareholders .
Insider Trades
| Date | Type | Shares | Price ($) | Value ($) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-03-06 | Sale | 10,000 | 15.28 | 152,800 | Reported on SEC Form 4; transaction disclosed by third-party tracker |
| 2025-04-02 | Deferral election | — | — | — | Form 4 reflects election to defer receipt of common stock until termination of Board service |
Governance Assessment
- Board effectiveness: Strong engagement evidenced by Audit Committee cadence (11 meetings, frequent executive/private sessions), with Ms. Hobby as chair and designated financial expert—supports confidence in financial reporting and risk oversight .
- Independence and conflicts: Board-level review found ordinary-course transactions with companies linked to directors (including Ms. Hobby’s external boards) below materiality thresholds; independence affirmed for Ms. Hobby and all committee members .
- Compensation and alignment: Director pay is balanced between cash and time-based RSUs; optional stock/deferral elections and strict anti-hedging/pledging policies enhance alignment. Ownership guideline of 5× retainer applies and is met by non-employee directors with >5 years’ service, including Ms. Hobby .
- Attendance/engagement signal: Overall Board/committee attendance ~96% in FY2024, with structured executive sessions and outreach programs, indicates high engagement levels .
- Red flags: None identified. No related-party transactions deemed material; one modest open-market sale (2023) does not indicate hedging/pledging, which is disallowed by policy .