- HPInc or HPE employee in the process of leaving: use the ASAP checklist. Join Ex-Compaq* and HP Connections groups on LinkedIn.

- Former Compaq employee who never worked for HP: Join Ex-Compaq* and HP Connections groups on LinkedIn.

If you received a "Potential Private Retirement Benefit Information" notice from Social Security, it is based on years-old information, as indicated by the "Year Reported" box. The key word is "potential." Here's how to decode it -- and who to contact if you are not sure what happened with that account: https://www.hpalumni.org/PotentialBenefitLetter

LinkedIn now tries to force each position on your profile into one of the companies in their company database. This can reduce the chance that a recruiter or former co-worker will find you. In addition, you want to control how your HP (vs HPE) -- or Compaq, EDS, Tandem, etc. -- background is indicated. You need to check, and probably edit, your profile. Step-by-step instructions:  https://www.hpalumni.org/LinkedInPositions

Time to untangle your stock! No one but you really cares about your employment-related stock. You may have stock in up to seven HP-related companies. Your stock may not all be in the same place. You may need to retrieve lost stock or dividends, find stray accounts, or estimate your cost basis. An HP Alumni team has developed a step-by-step process to find and protect your stock. Employee Stock  

Stock Decoder tables for: Compaq   DEC    Tandem

Comments about this page to: info@hpalumni.org   (Updated May 23, 2019.)

If you bought CPQ shares under the Compaq employee stock purchase plan, those shares were automatically converted to HPQ shares at the time of the merger. Unless you have sold or transferred them, the shares (and your corresponding new Hewlett Packard Enterprise and other spinoff shares) are being held by the last administrator of the plan, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney -- which is no longer being paid by the company for this work. Details and HPAA advice for former CPQ employee shareholders

Morgan Stanley customers are getting different results from different divisions of the company -- depending on whether they were participants in the Compaq Employee Stock Purchase Plan or had transferred their HP stock to a personal account at Morgan Stanley's local-office-based retail brokerage division. Morgan Stanley issues reported by members

Service at predecessor companies. Of HP's many predecessor companies, only HP and DEC had retiree healthcare programs. Only HP, DEC, and EDS had pension plans. Over the years, HP, DEC, and EDS set aside money in dedicated trust funds to pay for those programs. Compaq, Tandem, Autonomy, Palm, etc. did not have retiree healthcare or pensions among their benefits programs. Their employees did not have those expectations and there were no corresponding trust funds to pass on to an acquiring company. Therefore, employees of those companies do not get credit under HP's retiree healthcare or pension programs for service at the predecessor company. (Predecessor service does count for FTO.)  Details: Digital  EDS

HPInc is the legal successor to Compaq HPInc has responsibility for any commitments. This includes any retiree health coverage, pension, 401(k), etc. plans. (Does not depend on whether the employee's last business unit ended up in HPInc or Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the HP Breakup.)

Employment verification and experience letters for Hewlett-Packard, HPInc, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, predecessor companies, and successor companies. How to provide current and past employment status and salary to potential employers, financial institutions, and government aid agencies. Employment Verification: https://www.hpalumni.org/verif. Experience Letter: https://www.hpalumni.org/verif-letter

Compaq news:

- October 25, 1991: "The Day Everything Changed at Compaq" LinkedIn "Pulse" article by Sean Burke

- "Open: How Compaq Ended IBM's PC Domination and Helped Invent Modern Computing" – by Rod Canion. "...a series of risky and daring decisions – often facing criticism and incredulity – that allowed the open PC standard marketplace to thrive and the incredible benefits of open computing to be realized." BenBella Books (October 15, 2013) ASIN: 1937856992  Author's website: The Compaq Story

- Documentary based on Rod Canion's "Open" -- "Silicon Cowboys"

Other links:

- Employment Verification for former HP and Compaq employees.

- Networking Directory of HP- and Compaq-related networks and groups around the world.

- Contacts for former HP, HPInc, and HPE employees  

Compaq history:

- Compaq company history (via the Internet Archive)

- Gordon Bell's Compaq/DEC timeline

- Compaq Wikipedia article – with references and links. Note: Wikipedia articles change over time, may not cover all aspects of the topic consistently, and may not be written from a neutral point of view.

* The informal Ex-Compaq Employees group on LinkedIn is operated by Compaq alumni, not by the HPAA.

The Hewlett-Packard Alumni Association is operated by former employees who volunteer their time. Not officially endorsed or supported by any company. More about the HPAA