Carly Fiorina Ousted as CEO of Hewlett Packard
Source: MarketWatch: Hewlett-Packard on Wednesday ousted Chairwoman and Chief Executive Carly Fiorina, one of the most powerful women in business and the architect of the company's controversial 2002 acquisition of Compaq Computer. Fiorina said in a statement that she was essentially forced out of the company she joined in 1999. "While I regret the board and I have differences about how to execute H-P's strategy, I respect their decision," Fiorina said.

H-P said Fiorina "stepped down" from her positions, and that her departure is effective immediately. The Palo Alto, Calif., computer hardware giant named Chief Financial Officer Robert Wayman its interim CEO. Patricia Dunn was named non-executive chairwoman. Dunn has served as a director since 1998.

On a conference call to discuss the move, Dunn and Wayman suggested Fiorina's management style was at the crux of the decision to end her H-P career. "The board has been deliberating on the company and the CEO's performance for quite some time," Dunn said. "The board has the utmost confidence in Bob [Wayman] to lead the company until we find a new CEO."

Investors and analysts initially cheered the move, sending H-P shares up $2, or 10 percent, to $22.13 in early trading. The Dow industrials component was the most heavily traded issue on the New York Stock Exchange, with volume of more than 10 million shares."

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