Fiorina ousted as head of Hewlett-Packard

Hewlett-Packard Co. CEO Carly Fiorina stepped down on Wednesday after almost six fractious years at the company's helm.

In a press release issued before the start of stock trading, Fiorina all but said she had been forced out.

"While I regret the board and I have differences about how to execute HP's strategy, I respect their decision," she said. Fiorina also resigned as chair of the company's board.

HP's new non-executive chair, Patricia Dunn, confirmed during a subsequent conference call that Fiorina had agreed to step down after the board asked her to leave.

"The board has been deliberating on the company and the CEO's performance for quite some time," Dunn said.

Investors reacted to Fiorina's departure by sending HP (NYSE:HPQ) shares higher. After opening with a gain of more than 10 per cent, the Dow component stock closed up $1.39 US at $21.53 US on the NYSE.

One of the few women to lead a Fortune 500 company, Fiorina oversaw HP's controversial acquisition of Compaq Computer Corp. in 2002 in the face of resistance from shareholders and directors.

A recent report in the Wall Street Journal suggested the HP board of directors had discussed taking away some of Fiorina's responsibilities.

The board has appointed chief financial officer Robert Wayman as interim chief executive officer.

Wayman, a 36-year veteran of the company, will also retain his CFO responsibilities.

A former executive at Lucent Technologies, Fiorina was appointed chief executive officer of HP in 1999, when she replaced Lew Platt. She was named board chair the following year.

• FROM July 19, 1999: Hewlett-Packard Co. names new CEO

But she had her hands full with HP and the grumbling about her stewardship of the company had been growing louder.

Hewlett-Packard is in a tough fight with Dell Computer and IBM in the low-margin personal computer business. It has missed earnings targets and its shares have lost more than half their value since Fiorina took over as HP's CEO.