Hewlett-Packards board is considering ousting chief executive officer Leo Apotheker after less than a year on the job and replacing him temporarily with former eBay CEO Meg Whitman,a source familiar with the matter said. The board of directors for the largest US technology company is meeting to consider a host of issues,including whether to name Whitman as the interim CEO,the source told Reuters. No final decisions have been taken on the potential change in HP leadership,the source said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. HP has been facing withering criticism from Wall Street and a raft of shareholder lawsuits over its recent strategic decisions and how it communicated them. Whitman joined HPs board earlier this year after a failed bid to become Californias governor last year. HP shares were up 10.4 percent at $24.80 on Wednesday afternoon on news of the possible departure of Apotheker,who has come under harsh criticism from Wall Street. Chairman Ray Lane has been taking a more visible role in the past few weeks,including accompanying the CEO to visit investors to communicate and clarify HPs strategy. Last week,he replaced Apotheker at an industry conference to defend HPs change in strategy and clear the confusion that followed in the market. Apotheker,former SAP CEO,was a surprise choice to replace the popular Mark Hurd. During his tenure,he slashed sales forecasts repeatedly,backtracked on promises to integrate Palms webOS software into a swathe of devices,and struggled to halt a 50 percent plunge in the share price. In August,HP again frustrated investors by killing off a much-touted line of mobile devices including the TouchPad and declaring it may spin off its massive PC division. Apotheker also spearheaded a deal to buy British software maker Autonomy that many considered too costly.
