Fiorina leaves HP

Carly Fiorina, the embattled leader of Hewlett-Packard, stepped down as chair and CEO on Wednesday as HP tries to redefine itself for a new era.

The company's board said the change is effective immediately. Robert Wayman, HP's chief financial officer, has been named interim CEO and has been appointed to the board.

Board member Patricia Dunn said in a statement: "We thank Carly for her significant leadership over the past six years as we look forward to accelerating execution of the company's strategy."

Dunn, who has served on the board since 1998, has been named chair.

Fiorina's departure apparently stems from a disagreement with the board over the direction of the company.

Fiorina said in a statement: "While I regret the board and I have differences about how to execute HP's strategy, I respect their decision."

HP is scheduled to report its fiscal first-quarter results on 16 February.

The departure of Fiorina, who came to the company in 1999 from Lucent Technologies, comes as HP struggles to achieve consistent growth in its financial performance, particularly in its enterprise group. The company reorganised last month, combining its PC and printer units.

Fiorina has resisted calls to break HP, a Silicon Valley icon, into two separate companies, one focused on business customers and another focused on consumers.

HP's merger with Compaq, which was spearheaded by Fiorina, has also been criticised. Although the merged company has managed to wring out costs by combining operations, it has lost market share in certain areas, according to analysts.

Just two weeks ago, HP denied reports that it was planning to redistribute some of Fiorina's day-to-day responsibilities.

HP's stock was up about 10 per cent before the market opened.

On Tuesday, Sanford Litvack resigned from the company's board of directors. He was replaced by venture capitalist and former board member Thomas Perkins.

Martin LaMonica writes for CNET News.com.